


Breaking Rules to Prove You Are Better

by lackam



Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Gen, Olympic style games, Parkour, Spike the dragon, They had lots of help, deceitful, sneaky, violent combat
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-04-05
Updated: 2014-04-05
Packaged: 2018-01-18 05:53:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 15
Words: 25,341
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1417626
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lackam/pseuds/lackam
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Several of SHIELD's best come together against orders to participate in the Espionage Games to prove they are better than anyone else.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Questions

**Author's Note:**

> The idea came from some former jobs I have worked at where people compete in work related games against others in their professions. 
> 
> Thanks to my Beta Hedidi.
> 
> Thanks Zhie for the picture to accompany the story.

Chapter 1: Questions

Summer 2010:

“Are there any questions?” Coulson asked as he finished the debriefing from their latest mission.   
“Hey boss, what’s this?” Agent Romanoff asked him as she slid an advertisement across the table to him. “I grabbed this off of a bulletin board at CIA before we left this afternoon.”  
Looking at the paper, Coulson sighed in regret. “That is the advertisement for the Espionage Olympics. It is a series of games held every three years for the different spy and security organizations.”  
“What kind of events do they have?” she asked as she nodded her understanding.  
“They try to vary it,” Agent Barton answered. “They have Rifle Marksmanship competitions, Hand to Hand fighting, Breaking and Entering, Hacking, various Demolitions, that kind of stuff. Oh, and they also have both Individual and Team Parkour events which are really cool some years.”  
“Sounds like fun. So, can we participate?” she asked.  
“No you can’t,” Coulson answered as he sat back. “Fury refuses to let any of us participate. He thinks it is a waste of time and money so won’t sponsor a team. Besides we are supposed to be a secret organization, I think the WSC might take exception to us advertising our existence by participating in games.”  
Agent Romanoff just nodded but took the flyer with her as the team was dismissed for the rest of the day.

“Still looking at that thing?” Clint asked her when he saw the flyer laying on the desk in her room when he went to collect her for dinner that night.   
“I think it is a shame that no one here can compete and show how good they are against others in a non harmful way,” Natasha answered as she finished applying her makeup.  
“Yeah it is,” he answered. “Phil and I both think we could demolish the competition is several of the events. We would both like a shot at the Parkour event at least.”  
“So, why don’t you?” she asked.  
“You did hear the part about SHEILD not sponsoring a team right?” he asked laughing.  
“So you find another sponsor and compete under a different name,” was the comeback.  
“You’re serious,” he commented as he considered her. He sometimes forgot that finding a way around the system came second nature to her more than it did him.  
“Do you want to compete or not?” the redhead asked.  
Clint just gave her a considering look as they left the room and headed into town. He wondered why he and Coulson had never considered that option before and wondered if it would even be feasible. They would have to think about it, and discuss this seriously before they approached their boss. He knew Coulson was not as buy the book as everyone thought and had been known to break more than a few rules. Being the most senior he would be the one who took the biggest fall if they did compete though. But, if there was a way…

“Lunch time boss,” Romanoff said as she walked into Coulson’s office several days later. She promptly walked over and pulled his chair away from his desk.  
“I’m working Romanoff,” he said as he tried to push his seat back into place.  
“No, you are going to lunch with us, we have things to discuss,” she tried again.  
Agent Coulson looked at her to try and gage what exactly was going on but she gave nothing away as usual. After another push and pull battle on his chair he conceded defeat and rose putting his suit jacket on as he followed her out the door. He told his secretary that he would be back in a few hours as they passed her desk on their way out. He just hoped that what ever was prompting this would allow him to be back in time for his two o’clock meeting with the trainers.  
“Ok, what’s this all about?” he asked his primary team after the waiter in their favorite Mexican restaurant deposited their drinks and took their orders.  
Clint looked at Natasha and took a drink before he finally settled and answered. “We think we have found a way that we can compete in the Espionage Games without SHIELD sponsoring us. Will you just hear us out before telling us no?”  
“Go on,” Coulson said quietly as this was not at all what he had been expecting.  
“Well, we did some checking and it seems that you can compete under the anonymous Olympic flag if you do not have a team already competing in the competition, which we don’t. Or, we could get someone else to sponsor us then we could compete under their name,” Clint said in a rush.  
Coulson took a minute to consider what he was being told before answering. “We could not use the second option without accusations of going rouge and I think we all would rather avoid the consequences of that. I like the first option though but there are other things to consider. If Fury gets even a whisper that someone is considering competing in the Games he schedules them for ops during all of the qualifying events and the Games themselves.”  
“Qualifying events?” Natasha asked.  
“Some of the events have so many entries that they have qualifiers in the fall before hand to limit the entries in the actual games,” Coulson answered as he munched on the salsa and chips. “It saves a lot of time.”  
“What if we could come up with a way to ensure we made the events despite Fury?” Clint asked.  
“You are forgetting about your trackers that tell SHIELD exactly where you are,” came the answer as their food arrived.  
They settled down to eat and enjoy their food as they thought about the situation.  
“What if I could guarantee a way around the trackers?” Natasha asked as they finished up their meal.  
Coulson considered her seriously before giving his answer. “If you could guarantee that then I could probably take care of finding a sponsor to pay our way in my name but agree to remain hidden for security reasons. I also know of some other agents who would love to compete in different events so find out how many others could be covered for, where the coverage goes, and for how long. We will need the information quickly also as the qualifiers are starting soon and we need to put in the applications for our team including numbers of who is competing in what event.”  
“You know, the team Parkour event does not specify gender sir, it just says teams must be made up of three people. Care to join us?’ Clint asked as he pointed to Natasha and himself with a smile.  
“I would love too. Practice on the rooftops through out the city starting next week?” came the smiling answer. “Use the burner phones.”  
“Don’t forget to bring your gloves sir,” Clint said smugly as they headed back to work. He and Natasha had some people to talk too this afternoon and some situations to plan out. 

Coulson was talking with Director Fury on the phone the next afternoon when he heard the burner phone in his pocket ping. He waited until his call was finished before checking the message.

‘Trackers-check, 10 max, any range, + back up plan!’

He smiled widely as he texted back.

‘Sponsor taken care of. 8 total, maybe 2 more. Let me know what events for you two so I can put in the applications tonight. Dinner my place, 8. Bring beer.’

He texted the others who wanted to compete to let them know everything was a go and to remind them that there was still a chance that their identities would come out during the actual games in which case the repercussion would not be nice. He gave them until 9 tonight to back out if they were going to. Then he shot a quick text off to Pepper to let her know that everything was a go and he would tell her exactly how much he needed for the applications fees in the morning. He wondered if Stark would ever find out that he was actually funding this team, as well as his own, and then decided he didn’t really care. What Fury was gong to do with him when he found out was not going to be fun. He just hoped he would not be spending too many years in Antarctica afterwards and that was the best case scenario.


	2. Setting Plans in Motion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Several of SHIELD's best come together against orders to participate in the Espionage Games to prove they are better than anyone else.

Chapter 2: Setting Plans in Motion

Fall 2010:  
Monday:

“Sir, could you sign this leave request please?” Agent Coulson asked Director Fury as everyone else was filing out of the staff meeting.  
“Two weeks?” The directed protested. “Where do you want to go for two weeks?”  
“There is a convention in San Diego that I want to attend next week and I have the time as I am not needed in the field for now and most of my paperwork is caught up. Plus, HR is screaming again because I have too many days on the books. Some of my favorite card dealers will be there and I am hoping I can find some of the missing cards I need for my collections,” Coulson answered.  
“You can have one week then I need you to check on Stark in Malibu and see what kind of trouble he is causing. Also, check with R&D before you go and see if he updated the stuff he was working on for them, as well as the new system for the range on the carrier. Do not come back without ensuring he has completed everything,” came the orders as the Director changed and signed the leave request. “You know, I still have hopes that one day you will outgrow this obsession with Captain America that you have.”  
“If we find him I just might providing I get to meet him,” came the amused answer. “And it is not an obsession.”  
“Yeah right, that will be the day,” the Director said as he rose. “We have to find him first. When is Romanoff leaving for Estonia? I want all of the information on that arms dealer so we can take him out sooner rather than later. He is beginning to become a problem we don’t need.”  
“She leaves in three days and don’t worry, she will get your information for you. Then we can finish him off and put the whole network out of business. Barton should be back from his present mission the day after she leaves. Should I set him up with another one for while I am gone or do you want to leave him open for you to assign if you need him?” Coulson asked as he tried to make plans for the qualifying rounds of the games. Agent Blake was handling the scheduling for the four in his part of the world but he needed to ensure the ones here could make their qualifiers.  
“If you leave him here without anything to do he will cause trouble and I will have to kill him. Have you assigned anyone to that op in Germany?” Fury wanted to know.  
“I have already given that to Sitwell’s team and he already has a shooter. We could use the surveillance in Ireland for that supposed trafficking ring,” Coulson suggested. “It will probably run about a month and he can easily fit in there. It’s a one man job.”  
“Send him although I don’t think it will amount to anything. I believe the group has actually moved on to London but just in case it won’t hurt. He can also check up on the different terrorist groups there as they have been too quiet for too long. I don’t like it. And it will keep him out of my hair,” Fury said as he left the conference room. He never turned back around to see the devious little smirk on Agent Coulson’s face.

Agent Coulson returned to his office to find Agent Romanoff waiting on his couch.  
“You want to go to lunch at the diner down and around the corner?” he asked as he set his files down on the desk.  
“Sounds good, Estonia still a go?” she asked as they left his office. He just nodded his head affirmative as they walked down the hall.  
Once in the diner they ordered their food and began their planning.  
“Blake managed to arrange for himself and his hacker to be at their qualifying events by taking a few days of leave in the countries where they are so that was not a problem. His other two do not have to worry about qualifying before the games since they are demolitions so they are set,” he began as they waited for their food. “Reid will not have to qualify before the games either. That leaves us and Barton to test the tracker systems we are trying out. I really hope this works.”  
“It will sir,” she answered. “I had my tracker replaced with the new one we can bounce off of a receiver last week. You are set to have yours replaced tomorrow which should give the incision time to heal. Barton’s will be replaced while he is doing his medical check upon his return. All of the incisions should heal in plenty of time. Were you able to obtain your leave?”  
“Fury reduced it to one week like I thought he would,” Coulson began after the waitress set their food down and walked away. “I am to go to Malibu and check on Stark after that. Pepper will cover for me while there if I need the time. I have already ordered the cards I was looking for and can have them shipped to Malibu for Pepper to hold for me upon my return. I will go to the convention the first morning so I am seen and catch the plane to Japan for my qualifier that afternoon. Unfortunately I am in the biggest category by weight for the hand to hand. Hopefully, I can be back in the States in time so that Pepper won’t have to cover for me with the Malibu office at all.  
“Barton will be leaving for a surveillance op in Ireland two days after medical clears him. It is a lone wolf op so he should have no problem hopping over to London long enough to do his marksmanship qualifier as long as he remembers to call in on time. The WSC does not like him being in the field by himself as they don’t trust him but Fury will cover this op. He might send someone to check on him but they would still have to contact him to meet up. That would leave him time to arrange something I should think. I will maintain contact with him just in case he has a problem.   
“It is you I am worried about the most. There is a good chance I will be done by the time my leave ends but you are the one on an active op the whole time,” Coulson commented as he finished up his burger.  
“Don’t worry, I will be fine. You do not want to know what arrangements I have made so I won’t tell you. Deniability remember?” she told him. That made him uneasy but he left it as she continued. “We have to know if this will work before the games proper. It will be bad enough with the games themselves being in Spain. Blake and his crew can hop a plane and be home in a matter of hours but we won’t have that option.”  
“So is this the time I tell you that we have two more team members that I have to make the arrangements for?” he asked as they paid the check and left to walk back to the office.   
“Who?” she asked as she gave him a dirty look. She really wished they had been stationed somewhere nearer to Blake so he could handle the arrangements.  
“Fitz and Simmons want to enter the Science Lab competition,” he answered.  
“Aren’t they still at the Academy?” she stopped and asked.  
“They will graduate from student to staff in December. They don’t have a qualifier in the Lab competition so it works,” Coulson said.  
“I have heard about those two and it is not all good. I really hope you know what you are doing letting them compete,” Natasha said as they split up. “I will see you tomorrow for my briefing.”  
“Don’t put too many in medical this afternoon,” Coulson called over his shoulder as he turned to go back to his office. He needed to make a good dent in his paper work if he was going to go on vacation in three weeks. He also wanted a good workout this afternoon since he was going to have to miss a few days to heal after his tracker was changed tomorrow.

Tokyo Japan:  
Three weeks later:  
Monday:  
“You are holding back,” Natasha said as Coulson came off the mats from the qualifying round he had just won.  
“It is only the first round,” he answered as she handed him a bottle of water. “I have my next round this afternoon. It looks like there will be two a day until Friday to whittle down the numbers. There are over 200 entries in this weight class here in Japan. There are also qualifiers in two other countries. It is a two loss elimination which takes longer. Hopefully I can win every round quickly to give myself more time to rest. When do you start?”  
“My weight class starts tomorrow afternoon. I will win easily from looking at my competition.” She answered.  
“Don’t become over confident as you risk injury that way,” he warned. “You have an op to go back to.”  
“I won’t. Clint should have begun his qualifier yesterday. I will wait until this afternoon to check on the status of the trackers. Give them a little time to settle the signals,” she informed him. “Come on; let’s get you a light lunch now so your food has time to settle before your next round. You can tell me the specifics of the Science Lab competition as I have not read up on that section since I didn’t think we were entering anyone.”  
Coulson just smiled as they walked toward the cafeteria. “It really is simple this year. They are giving them a list of twelve ingredients two weeks in advance of the Games and they are allowed to bring two ingredients of their own choice that are not radioactive in any way. Then when their competition begins they have 24 hours to create something. They are judged on what they create both artistically and functionally. I think they also receive a grade for documentation.”  
“And you trust those two not to blow anything up?” Natasha asked in surprise. “I have heard about some of their lab experiments at the Academy.”  
“They are not near as bad as they were in the beginning,” he laughed. “Besides, it will be fun for them. They had a rather rough time at that Academy and their transition to agents has not been easy so they need some relief. I for one can not wait to see what they create. I am hoping the Lab competition doesn’t conflict with any of my own events so I can play their coach.”

Saturday:  
“Did you have to take her down so hard?” he asked as Coulson handed her a towel when she came off the mat.  
“She pulled my hair and made me angry,” Natasha said as she fixed her hair for the awards ceremony. She had won her class just as easily as she had thought she would. She was curious to see the results of the other qualifiers now that she was finished. She wanted to see if anyone was going to be more of a challenge. “You have your final bout tomorrow?”  
“Yes,” he answered quietly. He had sustained a vicious hit to his ribs this afternoon that was bothering him. He would heal; he just had to finish the final bout tomorrow.  
“Nothing cracked?” she asked.  
“Not yet,” he answered. He knew tomorrow’s bout would be painful. He had seen his opponent in the final watching and knew that he would be aiming directly for his ribs. His strategy would be to end the bout as quickly as possible to avoid further injury. He did not want to explain cracked or broken ribs to medical when he returned and with his luck someone would notice.  
“Come on then, let’s go put some of the bruise salve on you and put you to bed,” she told him as she pulled him along. “I want to call Clint and brag.”

Sunday:  
“Oh did you hear that crack? Some one down there just sustained a major injury,” the first announcer stated.  
“But neither fighter is giving up or acting injured. These are tough guys and we will have to wait to see what happens here,” the second announcer said. “And look there goes Coulson with the take down, and wow was that vicious.”  
“I think that is it Bob, Meire does not seem to be moving and the referee is calling the bout. Win for Coulson, and is that blood I see on his wrist?” the announcer called as Coulson returned to his side to leave the mats.   
Down on the floor Natasha gathered up Coulson’s gear and followed the medical staff escorting him to medical.   
“It’s a compound fracture in a delicate area. The bone pulled back through the skin but you are still going to need surgery,” the doctor told Coulson as he placed a soft cast on his wrist to immobilize the bones. “Are you sure you want to wait to return home before the operation? There are several good doctors on staff at the local hospital in Tokyo, and the military hospital in Okinawa is an option if you are military related. Depending on how many pins you need to fix everything, you should be fine in about five months. You also have two broken and one cracked rib that will need to be wrapped until healed. You have messed yourself up pretty good Mr. Coulson.”  
“I’m sorry I have messed everything up,” Coulson told Natasha as he settled into his room since the doctor had insisted he stay for the night. The he sighed heavily, “It will make covering up for everyone else easier if I can coordinate though.”  
“Don’t beat yourself up over this, it wasn’t your fault,” she said softly as she lay down beside him gently before they both drifted off to sleep.   
Natasha stayed with Coulson until he was released from the hospital the next morning. She took him back to his hotel to clean up and pack while she collected his medal, checked them out of the qualifier, and gathered their packets for the regular games. They both headed for the Tokyo airport where Natasha placed him on his plane before catching her own back to Estonia and her op. She placed a quick call to Pepper Potts to inform her of their status and to ensure Coulson would be met at the airport. She would call Clint and update him when she switched planes in Turkey.  
Coulson was surprised when Happy was waiting for him at the airport. He was driven to St Johns Regional Hospital where he met Ms Potts who explained that all of his records from Japan, and a limited medical record from SHIELD had been forwarded and that he was scheduled for reconstruction surgery the next morning. He was in the hospital for three days before being released into Ms Potts care.   
He was taken to the Stark mansion where he was informed by Tony Stark himself that he would be staying there for several weeks. Tony met up with Coulson at breakfast the next morning were he informed him that he had already informed Director Fury that he had arranged for Coulson’s care while he finished working on the programs for the range.   
“Do I want to know what you told him when he asked how I was injured?” Coulson asked with a raised eyebrow.  
“Oh, well Agent,” Tony hedged slightly. “I might have told him that you fell off the back balcony and down the cliffside after drinking too much at the party I threw.”   
“Oh God, I am never going to live that down,” Coulson whined as he slumped back into the chair as much as his broken ribs would let him.  
“Don’t worry so much, he bought the story.” Tony said as he smiled before telling Coulson that he needed to pick colors so that they could order the team uniforms now that everyone had qualified for everything. “Don’t forget to give Pepper your own sizes as well. We will have you healed up and ready to compete in no time.”  
Somehow it didn’t surprise him that Stark had found out that he was sponsoring their team. He just hoped Fury never found out.

Wednesday, two weeks later:  
Agent Coulson was just leaving Director Fury’s office where he had received a lecture about partying with Stark when he encountered Agent Romanoff. Stark may have told the Director and medical that he had gotten him drunk and he had accidently pushed him off the balcony and down the side of the cliff below but that did not mean he was absolved from the chewing out. She just smiled and nodded when told the story they had concocted and then informed him that she had heard from Agent Barton an hour ago.   
“He qualified on his first try by shooting a perfect score. He is ready to leave Dublin,” she explained. “He has had meetings with someone from the regional office to ensure he is where he is supposed to be and not doing anything he isn’t supposed to be four times since he has been there. I checked with my sources and the trackers worked perfectly also.”  
“So we are set,” he replied.  
“Other than your broken bones,” she said. “How is this going to affect the Parkour competition?”  
“I can still train some by changing what I do,” he answered. “I am already riding a bike and working on the NordicTrack. I am strapping a weight above my wrist on the cast and doing exercises there so I don’t loose strength in that arm. Wilcox is making me a special reinforced brace for my wrist so that I can start training with it for Parkour in a couple of months. I will do what I can for now and work extra hard when I am healed. I have plenty of time to get ready. I have received a lay out of the track route so we can start to work on planning out our run while I am healing. Wilcox is also transferring to the Greek office for a year next month so he will be close to the games. He has volunteered to be our team medic.”  
“What about everyone and everything else?” she wanted to know as she nodded.  
“Everyone qualified and have their information packets except you and Barton. Uniforms are ordered and our final entry as Team Delta has been approved. The Games are the second week in April so we have plenty of time to plan out everyone’s transportation and such. It will all work out, you will see,” he explained. He didn’t need to tell her that he would have back up plans in place in case Fury found out and ordered them all out on ops.


	3. Finalizing Plans

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Several of SHIELD's best come together against orders to participate in the Espionage Games to prove they are better than anyone else.

Chapter 3: Finalizing Plans

The next several months were busy for all members of the team and what was ending up to be a rather large supporting staff. Agent Blake had a separate support staff working from his base in the Sandbox that was not quite as large. The tracker systems for both sections of the team were constantly tested and re-tweaked to ensure that there were no problems. Agents Blake and Coulson split the team captaincy between them and ensured the training needs and readiness of the agents whenever they were in their respective halves of the world.   
Agent Coulson’s bones healed in record time thanks to several experimental drugs and procedures being used to speed up the process. He had a series of braces from stiff to just supportive for his left wrist that he was working through as he built back up the strength in it. He had begun to add more complex moves to his Parkour training which he had only modified due to his wrist rather than stopped. With two months remaining before the games he resumed his weight and hand to hand combat training. He used the Black Widow primarily as his partner to ensure he was up to where he needed to be. When she was gone on mission, he trained either with the Academy trainers or Agent Barton when he was not out on assignment.  
With six weeks left before the games a mysterious box of DVDs arrived upon Agent Coulson’s desk with the mail. Upon inspection he discovered that someone had gone to the trouble of making video recordings of not only all of the qualifiers but also of the training sessions of the winners who qualified for the games from most of the different teams. He separated the discs into who needed what and sent a jet to the Sandbox with the ones Blake would need for himself and his people under the guise of urgent mail. With the DVD’s and people involved in the tracking and communications setups, he was beginning to be amazed that the Director had not found out already. His instincts told him it was only a matter of time before they were outed. He and Blake had begun to talk more and more about scenarios involving how to go around the trackers and mandatory call ins. They also considered exit strategies for the Games if needed. He really hoped everything they had set up worked as he just sensed they were going to need it.   
In addition to ensuring that everyone was ready physically and mentally for the games, Agent Coulson had to coach his two “science babies,” as everyone had taken to calling them, on what to expect and what they could and could not do. They had already thrown out multiple ideas on what to make given different ingredients and were spending more time arguing than working. Finally in an effort to settle them down, he had them make up a list of what would normally be found in a standard lab both equipment and chemical wise as the instructions and rules stated that each team would be working in a lab with all the normally implied equipment. Then he had them select from a cup the type of item they were going to try and create. Once it was determined that they were going to create something organic instead of mechanical in nature most of the arguments stopped and they began to brainstorm ideas of what to grow.   
As their ideas grew wilder over the weeks he realized he needed to temper them in some way.   
“You two do realize that I don’t expect you to win this round right?” Agent Coulson asked them during one of their last planning session. “This time around I only want you to learn how the game is being played and what to expect. The next time around, I will expect you to win though.”  
“But sir, we already have a winning idea and know mostly how to make it,” Fritz protested. “We were just playing with you as you get this neat little wrinkle in your forehead….”  
“We are already putting together our two ingredients to take with us,” Simmons supplied in a rush.  
“But you don’t even know what chemicals the other ingredients will be,” Agent Coulson protested. “You won’t be given the list for several more weeks yet. Plus remember, you only have 24 hours to fulfill your experiment.”  
“That is why we have planned to make our baby with only the normal stuff in the lab plus our two ingredients sir,” Simmons answered. “Any of the ingredients on the list they supply us with will just be added in to enhance Spike.”  
“Baby?” Agent Coulson asked warily. “Spike?”  
“Oh, it is what we are naming it,” Fitz answered excitedly. “Just you wait and see sir, we won’t disappoint you.”  
“Just don’t blow anything up, please,” Coulson said as he wearily gave up. He really didn’t want to know what they were growing in advance, he might have to tell them no. Then again, he hoped whatever they grew would not eat anyone. He really didn’t want to do the paperwork on that. Of course if he was in the Frig he wouldn’t have to.

Two weeks from start of games (April 2010):  
“They are up to something,” Director Fury said to Assistant Director Hill as he pointed to the wall of camera screens in his office.   
“Who sir?” she said as she played dumb.  
“Strike Team Delta, who else,” he responded as he turned to signing the last of the papers she placed before him. “I think it’s time to run some of their energy out. Have Coulson come to my office.”  
“Yes sir,” she replied as she took the files he had finished signing to be filed.  
Hill dumped the files into the Director’s admin assistant’s hands as she hurried to the elevator and Agent Coulson’s office.   
Knocking quietly, she walked in without waiting for an answer. “He suspects and wants you in his office now.”  
“Shit,” Barton exclaimed from his place on the couch. “What are we going to do?”  
“Don’t panic, we don’t know anything for sure yet,” Coulson said hurriedly.  
“You go,” Hill told Coulson as he rose from his desk. “You two go warn the people in tracking and communications, then ready your gear for transportation. I will warn Blake and the others.”  
“How long have you known?” Agent Romanoff asked as they all left the office.  
“I was sitting at the top of the bleachers when Coulson had his wrist broken,” Hill answered with a smile. “He really is fun to watch fight. I was rather amused at his cover story for the broken bones though.”   
“Are you the one who provided the DVDs?” Barton wanted to know as they waited at the elevator.  
“You have no idea how hard it was to gather some of those. I had to use four teams,” she answered. “I am still thinking Coulson should be committed for letting the science babies compete. It really is a miracle Fury hasn’t caught on sooner.”

Coulson texted Barton and Romanoff to meet him at the Starbucks around the corner an hour later.  
“He suspects that we’re up to something but not what yet,” he told them as they all sat down with their coffee. “Natasha, you are being sent to Kiev for a couple of months of deep undercover. You leave in two days. Barton, you are going to Egypt and will be leaving tomorrow at 5AM. I will give you the mission files and brief you upon our return to the office. Give all of your Olympic gear and stuff to Hill tonight. She will take care of sending it to Blake who will bring it to Madrid. She will also oversee everyone else here onto planes for Madrid in plenty of time. The science babies and Reid all managed to get leave so are covered at least during the time of their events. I received the ingredient list for the Science Lab event this morning and will text it to Fitz and Simmons when we leave here.”  
“Where are you being sent sir?” Clint asked as he realized Coulson was avoiding telling them.  
“Rio,” came the quiet answer as he refused to look them in the eyes.  
“Who is going with you?” Natasha asked in concern.  
Coulson hesitated a minute before answering, “No one, Fury thinks it is better if I go in alone.”  
“Is he out of his mind?” Clint began before Coulson cut him off.  
“It’s my choice,” he snapped. “I have contacts I can use down there if I need help. He gave me an option and I chose to go alone. I just don’t trust anyone else to help with this since I cannot use you two. It won’t be easy and will take longer but I can do it. Besides, if I manage to make the contacts and get the info I need, I will have to liaison with their police. Don’t worry; everything will work out if we watch our time.  
”Do you think we can really pull this off without getting caught?” Clint asked as they walked back.  
“Blake and I both know that we will be caught in the end and have already discussed the likely consequences. We will take as much of the blame for everyone else as we are allowed. You will receive write ups and probably restrictions to base for a while but should be ok. The others have been told already and are fine with it.” Coulson answered. “I figured you two had already worked that out.”  
They just nodded their heads as they planned out the next few weeks and what it would take to complete both their missions and the Games at the same time.


	4. Beginning

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Several of SHIELD's best come together against orders to participate in the Espionage Games to prove they are better than anyone else.

Chapter 4: Beginning

Second week of April 2011:  
Madrid, Spain; The Games: 

Announcers:   
“Hello everybody and welcome to the 2011 Espionage Olympics. Once again we are being broadcast via closed cam video across the world thanks to the combined efforts of several of the alphabet agencies of Europe and the United States. And what an exciting Games it is going to be.”   
“That is an understatement Jürgen. This year there are almost twice as many teams competing and for the first time there are a number of private company teams competing in some of the events. None of the agencies teams are taking the private company teams seriously but they could have some good people. When you have the money of a Team Stark you can almost buy whoever you want. We also have an independent team competing for the first time in these Games.”  
“Yes that was a shocker Sylvia. There have always been independent individuals who have competed under the autonomy of the Olympic flag because they did not have a team but for the first time we have a ten person team competing under the Olympic flag.”  
“Team Delta, as they call themselves, are gathering quite a bit of attention from all of the other teams as well. It is surprising to note that it appears to be an international team, some of whose members are known to a number of members of other teams. And, despite some of them being known, no one is talking about where they come from or who they work for.”  
“You gotta love the Espionage community and its secrets Sylvia. The various betting pools are even taking odds on whether or not Team Delta’s true identity comes out some time during the games. But what I really find interesting in this team is that they have both the oldest two and youngest two competitors in these games this year. Some of the other teams are scoffing but I don’t know. If you watched some of the qualifiers, this team is nothing to laugh at.”  
“Ah, but can they stand against the Russians and their Red Room? They are back for the first time in a few years and from watching some of the practices today appear to be stronger than ever.”  
“We will just have to see Sylvia. Now let’s talk about another new change to these games this year that has caused quite a controversy. For the first time in the history of the Games all participants had to submit to blood test before hand. This was a decision made, and agreed upon, by most of the alphabet agencies after the controversies of the last Games.”  
“Yes Jürgen, the decision was made to handicap any meta-humans or mutants entered because of the unfair advantage they have over regular humans. After the blood tests are analyzed, a handicap number is assigned to a participant depending on the results. The handicap is then applied to the scores or difficulty levels in the events. The only place this seems to have caused a problem so far has been in the Hand to Hand Combat events. There it was finally decided to handicap the weight class the individual was fighting in by bumping them up to the next weight class.”  
“Sylvia let’s hope this solves many of the problems of the last Games and makes it easier on the judges. Now today after the blood tests were taken was the meet and greet luncheon where everyone plays nice and things are fairly relaxed. Tomorrow the actual events start with the elimination rounds for the Rifle Marksmen and the B&E specialist. We will also see the elimination rounds of the Women’s Hand to Hand which is always exciting. There are already rumors flying around about who will make the finals and win this time. I can’t wait to see what happens.”  
“Yes I will agree that the Hand to Hand competitions are exciting but my favorites are the Science Lab event and the Team Parkour. Those are just so exciting, I just love to see who blows up the labs and the acrobatics the Parkour athletes come up with.”  
“Oh yes, it will be an exciting Games!”

At the luncheon:  
“Hey guys, where is Coulson?” Natasha asked as she slid into her seat for the luncheon.  
“He is over talking with some guys from the Mossad,” Blake answered as they waited for the food to arrive. “We were worried that you wouldn’t make it when we couldn’t reach you on coms.”  
“It was a near thing but I found a chance to steal the info I needed early so I can go to phase two when I return,” she answered. “Where are the Fitz and Simmons?”  
“They are trying to see if Stark came with his team,” Blake explained. “Barton, is the shooter I sent to cover you going to be able to do the job or do we need to find someone else?”  
“He will be fine for at least a week,” came the considered answer. “He isn’t the best shot but the next week is mostly all surveillance anyway and he is good at that. I am keeping in close contact with him and will have a day or two to run over and meet with him if I must.”  
“I have a fighter on standby here if you need to go to help make everything faster,” Blake answered.   
“Any other personnel problems we will need to look into?” Natasha ask him as the science babies returned to the table.  
“We lucked out in that everyone is on leave during their events except you two, Coulson, and me,” Blake said. “Hill is helping run interference back at headquarters but I should probably warn you that Fury has already said that he will screen the B&E final and the Team Parkour event on the tellys in HQ.”  
“Are you going to drop out then sir?” Fitz asked as he sat down.  
Blake just shook his head with a rueful smile upon his face. “No, Coulson and I talked about this already. We knew that we were going to be caught so decided that in for a penny in for a pound. We are going all the way since we will have to face the music anyway.”  
“So, three of us in the men’s Individual Parkour sir?” came the laughed question.  
“Oh yeah, we are going to rock this place sweeping that event,” Coulson said.  
“Line up what you need over there or do you need some help,” Blake asked concerned.  
Coulson actually stuck his tongue out at him,” You know Felix, I may not be the bureaucrat you are but I can manage when I have to.”  
Felix just flipped him off and laughed as they all settled down to eat.  
“So has anyone heard if Lambert is going to blog the Games for everyone?” Reid asked as she settled down with her salad.


	5. Competition Starts

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Several of SHIELD's best come together against orders to participate in the Espionage Games to prove they are better than anyone else.

Chapter 5: Competition Starts

Tuesday, Rifle Range:  
“So, did you take everything on the first round?” Coulson asked as he found Clint sitting on the bleachers watching.  
“I shot a perfect score through every round so far,” came the smug response. “I should win this easily. How did Blake do?”  
“He breezed through with the second fastest time in qualifying,” Coulson said as he sat down beside Clint. “He has quarter finals this afternoon, semis tomorrow morning, and finals tomorrow afternoon.”  
“So you think he will win?”  
“Easily as he isn’t even trying yet,” he laughed.  
“So he wins the first gold for the team.”  
“Jealous?” Coulson asked with a smile as he ran his eyes slowly over Clint.  
“Nah,” came the quiet reply as his body heated up at the thorough gaze he was receiving. “It is nice to see one of the bureaucrats do something for a change. How well do you know him though?”  
“He was my first handler out of training,” came the careful answer. Not many people knew that Blake had been a field officer at one time and the fact was not advertised. “He is good people even if he is an ass some times. He was always disappointed in me for staying in operations and not following him. He thinks I am not utilizing all of my talents.”  
“Your not,” came a response from behind them. They turned to see Blake and Reid sitting behind them. “I know, let it go. Maybe one day you will change your mind. Ready to head over to the gym? Natasha has her first round right before lunch.”  
“No wonder she was so pissed. Whoever she is fighting is going to be sand by the time she is through,” Reid laughed. When the men looked at her strangely she explained better. “She over slept and missed breakfast.”  
Barton laughed as the others shook there heads with smiles on their faces. “That will be a fast round.”  
Coulson and Blake dropped back behind the other two as they headed for the transit bus.  
“So, are you tapping that yet,” Blake asked as he tilted his head towards Barton.  
“No,” Coulson answered regretfully. “He is bi-curious but not enough for me to tap it. Besides, Natasha still has her hooks in him.”  
“I never knew you to be so hesitant before,” Felix commented quietly. “What’s up?”  
Coulson was quiet for a moment before answering. “Besides the fact that he does work directly for me? I won’t take advantage of him like so many others in his past.”  
“And?” came the leading question since Felix sensed there was more.   
“He is like you,” Phil said as they bumped shoulders. “He would not be casual for me.”  
“So like me you will let him go,” Felix said as he shook his head sadly in understanding. Phil just shrugged his shoulders as they waited at the bus stop. “Well, beware of the Red Room girls if you need some stress relief. I hear they are looking to grow their agents from scratch now and you would make a good catch as a sperm donor. That big blond has been eying you constantly in an effort to catch your attention.”  
“Oh great, as if these Games weren’t complicated enough.”

Gym:  
“Well that was really fast,” Reid said as they looked at each other. They had only been at the gym for five minutes. Romanoff had won her round in 20 seconds. “Lunch anyone?”  
Turg, one of the demolition experts, met the five of them as they waited for the transit bus to the cafeteria. “Sirs, your phones, it is time for your check ins,” he explained as he handed out the different secure cell phones.  
They all managed to finish their check in before the bus arrived and returned the phones to their designated watcher for the day.   
Natasha was not due to check in for another three hours so Turg stayed with her until then. 

 

Tuesday night at the hotel:  
“Alright,” Blake began once they had all returned from dinner. “Everyone competing today is through their first rounds. I will do semis and finals tomorrow afternoon. Natasha, you have two more rounds tomorrow then quarters and semis the day after. Tunous, you start your Hacking rounds tomorrow. Remember to save the really good short cuts for the later rounds. You only want to let your opponents see a little right now. You demo guys have another five days before you start so keep a watch out for the others. Fitz, Simmons go over your procedures and stuff step by step. You don’t compete until Friday so there are no excuses for a screw up. Coulson, how is the wrist, you start Hand to Hand tomorrow? Are you hydrated enough yet?”  
“I will wear the medium brace as the guy I have for my first round is huge?” came the sleepy answer from the far bed. “And yes I am rehydrated. If I drink any more water I will puke.”  
“He’s fine,” Wilcox their team doctor said. “He obviously just needs sleep. Everyone has been warned about the baby making the Russians are attempting right?”  
Everyone nodded their heads. In the quiet before any more questions could be asked they all heard the buzzing of a phone on vibrate.  
“Shit, it’s Fury.” Coulson said as he checked the number on his phone as it danced across the nightstand. “Everyone quiet,” he ordered as he answered the phone. “Coulson.”  
“Yes sir.”  
“First thing in the morning sir as the airport is closed right now.”   
“Where?”  
“Dead drop or in person?”  
“Yes sir.”  
“How bad is it Phil?” Blake wanted to know as he watched Coulson think after hanging up.  
“Fury wants me to leave Rio and pick up a dead drop in Bogotá tomorrow afternoon and send it on. Says there is no one else closer and they need the info ASAP.”  
“I got it,” Reid says as they all look at her in surprise. “Hill thought something like this might come up as we are a little thin on the ground in South America right now. Give me the drop info, May is sitting in Panama City until next Monday waiting in case we needed her for something down there.”  
There was a collective sigh of relief as they realized they were covered.   
“God Blake,” Coulson said after passing on the info. “Do you realize how many people are involved in our being here? We are royally screwed when we get back.”  
“Definitely going to call my lady to come up here so I can get laid before spending my next couple of years in the Frig,” he answered back with a rueful shake of his head. “The things I let you talk me into. Alright everybody lets break it up and get some sleep. Reid, see if we can get a call back once Bogotá is done? And everyone, remember to stay away from the B&E final tomorrow. Fury is screening it at HQ and will be suspicious enough when he sees me. How much of the Games he will show at headquarter beyond what we already have been told about is unknown. Lambert is running a Games’ blog if anyone wants to check it out.”  
Everyone left in relief as their first crisis was hopefully adverted. 

Madrid; Wednesday:  
Announcers:  
“Afternoon everyone from sunny Madrid as we resume our coverage of the Games today.”  
“And what an interesting morning it has been today Jürgen. The first gold medal of the Games was awarded in the B&E competition this morning and what a surprise it was. Felix Blake of Team Delta surprised everyone by taking the gold in a record breaking time that made it look like everyone else was standing still. He was not even considered to be in medal contention and then just played everyone like fools. Let’s watch a quick recap of his winning round.” (Announcers cut away to watch recap of B&E finals and then return.)  
“I have to tell you Jürgen that was just something. And I even liked what he was wearing. Everyone else competed in cat suits or similar gear and Blake shows up in tight jeans, high top basketball shoes, and a white t-shirt.”  
“Well Sylvia, there was a small controversy before he ran his final round about what he was wearing. Seems several of the other contestants thought that he was not adhering to the team uniform rules. And when the judges checked, it turned out that those were the clothes that the team had designated as uniforms for all events except Demolitions and Hand to Hand combat. We knew we were seeing something different with this independent team and it looks like we were right.”

USA, SHIELD Headquarters auditorium: Same time as above:  
“GOD DAMMIT,” Director Fury shouted from the front of the auditorium. “Hill, please tell me that I heard wrong and he did not just say Felix Blake has won the B&E competition?”  
Assistant Director Hill wisely didn’t say anything as she watched the screen recap of the event final.   
“Sitwell,” Fury shouted.  
“Here sir,” Jasper said as he stood and approached the Director.  
“I want a list of everyone who is on leave and where they are supposedly at,” he was ordered. “Lambert.”  
“Yes sir,” the young agent said as he stood and made his way down to the Director.  
“I want a tracker check of ALL personal in the field or away from their bases and a list of everyone within a hundred mile radius of Madrid now,” the Director ordered.  
“Fulbright,” came the next order.  
“Yes sir,” the communications specialist answered.  
“I know you are taping this. I want all footage analyzed and I want the names of all SHIELD personnel in any of the videos. I don’t care if they are just part of the crowd. I want a full list.”  
“Yes sir, I will have my people get right on it,” Fulbright said as she left the room.  
Director Fury gave a very unhappy scan across those still watching before he turned and sat down to watch more of the Games himself.

Madrid:  
“Just received texts from Hill, Sitwell, Lambert, and Fulbright that Fury knows at least about Blake,” Coulson sent to everyone on Team Delta. “No word on anything else thought so proceed as planned until we say other wise.”

Announcers:  
“Also today, there seems to be quite a controversy going on at the rifle range in the Rifle Marksmanship competition.”  
“Yes Sylvia. The uniform question came up there also with Team Delta but was quickly resolved and the organizing committee has now passed word around to all judges and officials about that. But the big contention going on there has been of cheating by Team Delta. And let’s go over to Sven for an update as to what is going on.”

(Rifle Range)  
“The controversy here is that competitors from several teams are accusing Team Delta of cheating because of the scores and targets of their shooter. I have here one of the targets from Barton, the Team Delta marksman, from yesterday afternoon’s round. As you can see, there is only one hole in the target although it appears slightly bigger than that of a single normal round. Barton has been receiving perfect scores on every round shot so far. The accusations being made are saying that it is not possible to do that and that he is actually missing the target.”  
“Felix Blake, who is one of the Team Delta captains, challenged the complaints and stated that the complainers where just poor loser. Competition was stopped and the organizers have stepped in. It has been decided that Barton will reshoot his previous three rounds after several cameras are placed beside the target to record where his shots are going. Only after this has been done will competition resume. Back to you Sylvia and Jürgen.”  
“Boy, we knew that Team Delta was going to be watched but this is just amazing. If Barton does reshoot perfect scores he will most likely win the Rifle Marksmanship competition. And if I remember right, he won his qualifier by shooting perfect scores in London. It makes you wonder what else will happen with this team during these games. Now let’s cut over to the gym for coverage of the fourth round of Women’s Hand to Hand and the first round of Men’s Hand to Hand. We will be bringing you updates of what is going on in other events around the city as we go on in the afternoon.”


	6. Contingency Plans

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Several of SHIELD's best come together against orders to participate in the Espionage Games to prove they are better than anyone else.

Chapter 6: Contingency Plans 

Wednesday evening:  
SHIELD Headquarters; USA:  
Director Fury stared at the list in his hand. “So, I have fifteen people on vacation in Madrid. Plus there appears to be another 7 who decided to spend layovers or days off in Madrid watching the Games that Fulbright found on video.”  
Jasper Sitwell just nodded his head in agreement.  
“And Felix Blake’s name is not anywhere on this list,” he continued. Turning to Hill he asked, “Where does Lambert’s report say Blake’s tracker puts him?”  
“In the Sandbox sir,” she answered hesitantly.  
“I want a diagnostic check on the entire tracker system,” Fury ordered as he stalked out of the room. “I want the whole Games screened and recorded from yesterday on. And find out if Coulson is back in Rio yet.”  
Hill and Sitwell looked at eat other before she headed towards the door. “I will take care of the diagnostic check to slow it down. Get a message off to warn them and then check on Coulson and May,” she whispered.

Wednesday night:  
Madrid:  
Everyone gathered in Agent Blake’s hotel room for a run down on what was going on.   
“Alright everyone lets get started,” Coulson began. “Tunous, how did it go?”  
“I made it easily into the next round sir,” she began. “I actually spent more time checking out my competitors to size them up. I have two I need to worry about so medaling shouldn’t be a problem.”  
“Natasha didn’t kill anyone today and starts quarterfinals tomorrow,” Coulson continued.   
“I should win these rounds and the semi with ease,” she supplied. “It is set up that I will have to face down a Red Room opponent for the final.”  
“I won my first round and move on with two easy matches tomorrow,” Coulson continued as he nodded his head at her.  
“How is the wrist?” Blake asked.  
“His wrist is fine and he only has a few minor bruises from today’s round,” Doc Wilcox cut in. “Natasha isn’t hurt at all. I want to bring in another doctor for next week. There is no way that Romanoff will come out of her final unhurt if it is set up like she says, and I want to monitor Coulson’s matches as he goes through. I watched most of the tapes of the qualifiers and training. The Men’s rounds are going to be vicious before too much longer. The rules require a team doctor be present at the Demo events so we need someone else.”  
“I can have Dr. Smith from the Sandbox come out and stay with the demo guys,” Blake inserted. “He is a trauma and burn specialist. The only problem is that he does not come off of his work cycle until Monday morning and the Demo events might begin on Sunday.”  
“I can ask the Mossad if we can borrow one of their team doctors for Sunday. I am pretty sure they will have no problems lending us one. Barton?” Coulson asked as they all knew of the cluster going on at the rifle range.  
“It’s ok, everything worked out,” he answered. “The cameras proved I was putting the rounds through the same hole. We shoot semi’s tomorrow morning and finals at dusk. I will win with no problems.”  
“Good,” Coulson said smugly. “Our problem with you comes from the fact that the announcers used your name when they told everyone of the problem that put the rifle competition behind. As soon as you finish tomorrow night Lammal will take you to the airfield outside of town and you take the jet to Egypt. Spend the next couple of days there and come back on Monday morning before the Individual Parkour. If he is going to have someone make contact with you it will be between Friday and Sunday. Hopefully Fury hasn’t decided to screen the whole Olympics now that he knows about Blake.”  
“Which brings us to the next subject,” Blake began. “Fury saw the video of me today. He ordered lists of who was on vacation, layover, and just taking a day off. He had the video analyzed for who was here. He also had the trackers checked so he knows mine reads the Sandbox instead of here. He has ordered a diagnostic check of the system so he is questioning things. Most of you are not in a whole lot of trouble, only the four of us who are not on vacation and maybe Doc. My assistant sent me a text saying she had a check done of every ‘all personnel’ memos sent out from the Director and Admin in general over the last year. No where is there a memo stating that no one can compete this year; evidently they forgot to send it. That slip might actually save the rest of you if we are not ordered home.”  
“Sir,” Tunous began. “I have noticed that there is a Red Room hacker who is constantly being yelled at and berated by his coach. He is one of my two real competitors. He is very unhappy and might consider moving on if offered. Could you maybe say that you had heard rumors about him and came to see if he was worth recruiting? Then maybe say you couldn’t resist competing since you were already here?”  
“I don’t know if they will believe it but it is worth a shot. Coulson, do you have any recruit packages around?” Blake asked.   
“I have one that I always carry with me,” he answered. “I can text Sitwell to have an Extraction and Retrieval Team sent in just in case. I will have him say you requested it. Even if they don’t believe that is why you came to the Games it might help mitigate your punishment. The Mossad has a guy they want us to take anyway as he doesn’t seem to be able to work along with the Orthodox crowd. They can have him here in two days so we will at least have one recruit to back up your recruiting story.”  
“Actually, you may have two,” Lammal stated. “Turg, Reid, and I have been talking to the different Demo teams. The FBI has a guy who is really good but ready to quit because of the backstabbing in the change of command. If you pass his name along I am sure we can recruit him.”  
“We could use a few good doctors if you hear of any who are unhappy where they are,” supplied Wilcox.   
“I have one from Lithuania that has agreed to come to us. I was going to wait and bring him back after my op with me but I can say I took a two day break to bring him here. We would only have to stash him someplace until the Retrieval Team comes,” Romanoff added quietly. “Hopefully that should cover part of my time here.”  
“Alright everyone lets break up for tonight so those of us who have to compete tomorrow can get some sleep,” Coulson said as they busted up the meeting. He looked at Blake who shook his head as everyone left the room. “At least you will be ok,” he said.  
“I wish there was some way we could cover you,” Felix answered. “Romanoff should be fine if she can bring in her recruit but Barton and you are both still hanging out there. I will work on seeing what I can do to cover Barton. Maybe I can pull off some kind of op for him to be on in the area using the Games as cover that runs concurrent with his present op.”  
“I am willing to settle for the ops coming out good afterwards. Barton and Romanoff’s ops should be good but mine is a cluster that is tetchy. Nothing for it though,” he said as he finally left and headed for bed.


	7. Problems They Didn't Need

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Several of SHIELD's best come together against orders to participate in the Espionage Games to prove they are better than anyone else.

Chapter 7: Problems They Didn’t Need

Thursday; Madrid:

Agent Coulson had rolled out of bed at dawn to ensure that Barton had someone with him at the semis of the Rifle competition. They had made the decision as a team to never leave anyone else alone if it could be prevented. He himself did not have his first match until 10 AM and knew he had plenty of time to watch. He was surprised to find Fitz and Simmons in the stands when he arrived.  
“Oh thank God,” Simmons told him as he sat down beside them. “Blake is down on the field with Barton.”  
“Problem?” Coulson asked with a raised brow.  
“We are being followed,” Fitz answered as the shooting began. “It started yesterday afternoon.”  
“Who?” Turg inquired from behind them as he sat down.  
“We are not sure sir,” Simmons said as she addressed Coulson. “We have heard them speak three languages but they don’t seem to be attached to any team that we can tell so far.”  
“That is all we need,” Blake said as he sat beside Coulson. “The others are with Romanoff and Tunous,” he explained. “I saw some people who I thought where attached to AIM this morning.”  
“Fitz, Simmons, do you have all of your prep work done for tomorrow,” Coulson asked his science babies.  
“Oh yes sir we are ready,” Simmons answered as she pointed out that Barton was taking position to shoot.  
“Split them up?” Blake asked to confirm what he thought Coulson was thinking.  
“Yeah,” came the quiet answer. “You keep Fitz and Turg with you. I will take Simmons with me to the gym. Romanoff can stay with her and the doc while I compete. Saturday after they are done I want them on a plane back to the States. They are both too valuable to risk losing.”  
“But sir, we want to stay with the rest of the team,” Fitz protested.  
“Sorry kids, I can’t take the risk with AIM running around. Where they are Hydra is sure to follow,” Coulson explained. “Blake, can you have Tunous run a computer scan and see if she can figure out who is in the area and maybe why after she is done today?”  
“Do you still want Barton to head back to Cairo after he wins tonight?” he wanted to know as he nodded.   
“Yeah, let’s not chance more than we have to,” Coulson answered. “I was going to try and send you back for a few days also but I will need you here until after they compete.”  
“Not going to happen. You would be just as valuable to either group and you are a known quality to them. Your fights are going to become a lot harder and your guard will be down some. We can’t chance it,” Blake argued. “When does Sitwell arrive with the Retrieval Team?”  
“He was thinking midnight or shortly there after,” Coulson sighed. “If we can keep together and in public places until then we will have extra people we can rely on.”  
They turned to finish watching as Barton won his Semis before Coulson and Simmons headed over to the gym.

Coulson turned Simmons over to Dr. Wilcox while explaining the situation before going to the locker room to change. He knew today’s bout would be tough as his opponent was a close friend of Meire, the man he had defeated in his qualifier. Meire had never recovered sufficiently to return to work since the qualifier from what he had heard. His opponent had already confronted Coulson and told him he would take his revenge out on him. Knowing he had a tough fight ahead, Coulson chose to wear his stiffer wrist brace. Then he settled and tried to meditate some to prepare himself. It was Dr. Wilcox who came and found him when it was time for him to report in.  
“How did Natasha do?” Coulson asked as he signed in at the judges table.  
“She is still winning easily and has a break before her final tomorrow,” the doc answered. “I am more worried about you.”  
“I will be fine. I will withdrawal before I let myself become injured,” he answered. “I would rather win in the Parkour events.”  
“No you won’t,” came the knowing response. “The Parkour are more fun to you but the hand to hand carries more prestige. Your friend Wilson and I have talked. Even you become frustrated with being ignored and forgotten even though that is one of your gifts.”  
Coulson just shrugged his shoulders before settling onto a bench to await his turn. He saw Simmons being escorted by a freshly showered Romanoff to a nearby chair before he was called to the mats to fight.

“I did not realize the fights would be this intense,” Simmons told Agent Romanoff as she winced when Coulson hit the mat hard before scrambling back up. He was already sporting some rather deep scratches across his lower legs.  
“The men’s bouts have a lot more egos added that is not there in the female’s bouts. Plus this fight is also a grudge match,” Romanoff informed her.  
“Oh no, his eye has been cut,” Simmons said as she sat forward in her seat. She really respected and liked Agent Coulson so she did not want to see him hurt. He had supported Fitz and her through the many rough times in the Academy since he had sponsored Fitz’s application. She had really hoped that they could be assigned to him after their placement in R&D but they had not been that lucky. Maybe one day they would have the chance.  
“He is ok though, Doc will put wax on it to seal the wound,” came the supportive response. “See, the ref is calling a break and sending him to his corner. Coulson needs to hurry this up though and end the fight.”  
When the fighters began again after a minutes break, it was a totally different fight. Both men came out of their corners with the intensions of ending the fight quickly and attacked full on. After taking a hard kick to the back, Coulson whipped around and grabbed his opponent by the arm and twisted it up quickly behind his back before dropping down with his opponent’s arm across his leg. The resounding crack and following scream silenced the audience for a minute before Coulson was declared the winner. Simmons just shuddered at the brutality of it all.  
The team met for a quick lunch together before Blake took Fitz and Barton back to the hotel with Agent Coulson. Doc wanted Coulson to sleep some before his bout that evening and told Barton to rest also. Fitz and Simmons were ordered to take a small nap since they had a big day tomorrow while Blake and Tunous started on a computer search of what AIM was doing in the area. Turg and Lammal returned several hours later from their mini surveillance job as Doc was waking Coulson for his return to the gym.  
“What did you find out?” Coulson said as he came out of the shower.  
“Not now,” Blake ordered as he looked questioningly at the demo specialists. “I trust it can wait until we meet tonight, after your next match and Barton’s final.”  
“We will stay with Fitz and Simmons here at the hotel until everyone returns,” Turg stated as he pointed to Reid, Tunous, and himself. “I will have Reid pick up some food for everyone once Lammal heads over to take Barton to the jet.”  
At everyone’s nod of agreement Doc, Romanoff, and Coulson left to head for the gym while Barton and Blake prepared to leave for the rifle range again in an hour’s time.

Announcers;  
“Well Sylvia, that was an anti-climatic final if I ever saw one. It was only a contest for silver and bronze.”  
“I totally agree Jürgen. Clint Barton really ran away from the competition from day one shooting perfect scores all the way through. And while the Red Room took both the silver and bronze medals they are really not happy about it.”  
“Well what can be said, Barton is just really one hell of a shot. Now let’s recap the other events for today and set up what the competition looks like for tomorrow Sylvia.”  
“The finals for the Hacking event will be tomorrow morning with really no favorite out front. That will be a good fight to the end. The Linguistics event starts right afterwards. The Women’s Hand to Hand final is tomorrow morning also with an interesting line up. Both of the finalists are Russian, Romanoff from Team Delta and Putkanova from the Red Room. That is going to be one hell of a fight as we are hearing rumors that Romanoff was once actually a part of the Red Room.”  
“The Men’s Hand to Hand competition continues with finals in several of the lower weights and more rounds in the heavier weights. These fights have really begun to be intense also. In the heavier weights we are beginning to see some substantial injuries and the fights are going on much longer than in the lower weights. There also appears to be some grudge matches being played out over in the gym that the refs and judges are having to keep an eye on. We can only hope that no one is seriously injured before the final bout is over.”  
“And Jürgen tomorrow is the big day. The much anticipated Science Lab event starts at eight in the morning and continues on until a winner is declared by eight o’clock Saturday morning.”  
“It will be so exciting to see what the science teams come up with. There have been some really interesting creations in the past. Saturday is more men’s Hand to Hand bouts, both finals and elimination rounds. The Linguistics event will continue also. Then Sunday is a down day for everyone except the men’s Hand to Hand which will be finish up its non medal matches until the Demo and Parkour events begin on Monday morning. The men’s heavyweight Hand to Hand final isn’t until Wednesday.”  
“We still have plenty of exciting action to come. Goodnight from the 2014 Espionage Games everyone and we will see you all tomorrow.”

Thursday night at the hotel:  
Everyone sat around eating quietly while they waited for Lammal to come back from the airfield. Doc was busy putting a bruise cream on Coulson’s ribs and knee joints while Romanoff discretely ground up some sleeping aids and pain killers to be added to the soup they had bought for him. Coulson himself was lying on the bed with his eyes closed as he held ice packs to his jaw and cut eye.  
Finally Lammal came back and Blake began their nightly briefing.  
“For those of you who don’t know yet, Barton won the Rifle Marksmanship event with ease. He is on his way back to Egypt until Monday morning. Tunous has her final in the Hacking event tomorrow morning. Romanoff has her final in the Hand to Hand tomorrow just before noon. Doc, do you have everything you need there?”  
“Yeah, I am covered,” Wilcox answered.  
“Coulson has another round in the morning at 10 if he is up to it.”  
“I’m fine Blake,” came the weary answer as Romanoff gave Coulson his soup after stuffing a sandwich down him.  
“If he wins, he has a bye round in the afternoon at which point I expect him to come back and rest some more. Also, our science babies have their event starting at 8 in the morning and going until finished on Saturday. I will go with them along with three from Sitwell’s team who arrive tonight. I want Turg and Lammal to go with Tunous. Sitwell will send two of his people with you to try and make contact with the Red Room hacker and the five of you can work together plus have additional help on call if you need it. Hopefully you can convince him to defect to us. Reid, I want you at the gym. Sitwell himself and two others will also be there from 0930 on. Any questions so far?”  
When no one asked anything, Blake continued. “As plans stand right now, Sitwell’s teams arrive at midnight tonight and will stay until Saturday afternoon before leaving. The Mossad guy comes in tomorrow morning at 0800. Colonel Hirum of the Mossad will meet him at the airport and turn him over to Sitwell’s people to be placed on the bus before he goes to the gym. Romanoff has her guy on his way already and I will pick him up at the airport this morning at two. He will go directly onto the retrieval bus and stay there until they leave. Fitz, Simmons you two will go directly from your event Saturday morning to the airport. You will be going with Sitwell’s teams back to the States. Make sure you pack everything in the morning; Reid will make sure it gets to the bus for you.”  
“Sir, have you been able to find anything out about the people following us?” Fitz asked.  
“We have been able to verify that it is AIM. They are trying to recruit scientists from the Games as well as any others they find interesting,” Blake explained as he lifted his eyebrow questioningly at Doc.  
“He’s out,” Doc confirmed as he looked down at Coulson.  
“Turg and Lammal were able to trace them to what appears to be a new base just north of Madrid. They were able to identify some Hydra personnel also,” he continued softly so as not to wake Coulson. “The Hydra people were at the gym and appear to be watching Coulson. I will notify Sitwell when he comes in. I suspect they know that he is our Hydra specialist and his being taken is not something we want to chance.”  
“Can we take them out?” Romanoff wanted to know.  
“That is not my call, I have to kick it up the chain of command,” Blake answered quickly. He is already going to be in enough trouble from participating in the Games, I don’t want to risk using him as bait here also when he is supposed to be in Rio.”  
“Alright everyone lets knock off for the night. Some have a busy day starting in a few hours and sleep will keep everyone sharp,” Doc said as he shooed them all out the door.


	8. Warnings

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Several of SHIELD's best come together against orders to participate in the Espionage Games to prove they are better than anyone else.

Chapter 8: Warnings

Headquarters, USA:  
Thursday night/early Friday morning; 

“Has Sitwell’s E&R Team arrived yet?” Director Fury asked Hill as she came through his office door.  
“They arrived several hours ago sir,” she informed him. “The Mossad guy and the Ukrainian are already on board the Bus. Here is the name of the FBI buy who has agreed to come over to us.”  
“Please tell me Barton won since I haven’t had time to watch the feeds yet,” he said as he took the name and added it onto the to-do list for later.   
“Easily sir and he is already back in Cairo,” she answered. Noticing a hitch in her voice, Fury looked up and made a come on motion. “Tunous has convinced the Red Room hacker to defect after the final tomorrow. I am thinking of sending a jet to retrieve him right away since we are going to need to leave Sitwell there a little longer.”  
“Why?” he asked as he added Tunous’s name to the team list he was compiling.  
“The science babies are being followed by guys from AIM who have set up a new base just north of Madrid, so the plan is to sent them back with Sitwell. And Blake has identified several Hydra people following Coulson because one of his sources has told him there is a kidnap order out on him,” Hill told him as she realized just how out of hand the situation was becoming.  
Fury digested what she had just told him, while adding Coulson, Fitz, and Simmons’ names to the team list, before deciding to comment.  
“Coulson managed to talk the two brightest brains to come out of our Academy, probably ever, to be on his team? Which led to the discovery of the new AIM base? And we will have the Red Room after our heads by tomorrow afternoon when we steal their hacker?”  
At her nod, he continued.  
“So tell me, who is running around wearing Coulson’s tracker in Rio?”  
“I don’t know sir,” was all she could answer.  
“Right now I don’t know whether to be amused at how the four of them beat the tracking system or line them up in front of a firing squad. Well, at least Coulson isn’t alone to be kidnapped right now so something good has come of it, not counting our new people. Coulson’s next Hand to Hand match should be on in a few minutes, want to watch?”

Madrid; Friday morning:  
“Good luck you two, I will be over as soon as I am done to watch,” Coulson told Fitz and Simmons as they headed out the door.  
“It will be fine sir,” Simmons told him as she handed her bag off to Reid. “As long as you are there by tomorrow morning for the big reveal we are fine. Good luck yourself and be careful you two.”  
“She does realize you are going to fight right?” Sitwell asked as he popped up behind them. He herded Reid, Romanoff and Coulson into his vehicle where two others waited.  
Coulson just smiled as he laid his head back. They swung by the airport to drop off the bags before heading on over to the gym. Upon arrival Coulson headed to the locker room to change and meet up with Doc who had arrived an hour earlier. Romanoff and the others took seats near what would be Coulson’s corner.   
“How is Coulson holding up Romanoff?” an older red headed gentleman asked as he sat down behind them along with what appeared to be several body guards.  
It took Romanoff several seconds to place where she had seen the man before she decided to answer. “Councilman Greyson, it is good to see you again.”  
“Somehow that is not what I think is going through your mind right now,” he told her with a little smile. “I have known about this plan for the Games since the qualifiers. The only reason you are actually here competing is because I am curious about what Fury does.”  
Sitwell and his people tensed while Reid just looked on. Finally Sitwell used hand signals to tell his people to help Councilman Greyson’s guards if anything went down.  
“You are one of Coulson’s protégé’s aren’t you,” Greyson asked Sitwell. Then to put the man at ease he told him, “I have heard good things about you so far.”  
Sitwell said thank you before they all turned their attention to Coulson and his opponent as they took their corners. After another five minutes the bout began. It was easy to see that Coulson’s opponent thought it would be an easy match for him as he was both bigger and heavier. He had a longer reach and was less beat up than Coulson. Romanoff just smirked as Coulson took the guy down fast and knocked him out before he could really fight back. The whole fight had lasted less than three minutes.  
“Wow, now what are we supposed to do, your fight Romanoff isn’t for another two hours,” Reid commented as they looked at each other.  
“You can all sit here and wait,” Councilman Greyson told them as he rose. “I plan on having a talk with Coulson, in private.”  
They just sat back and watched the man as he left.  
“Good take down agent,” Greyson said as he walked into the locker room. “Clean up, I want to talk with you.” Once Coulson was in the shower he turned to the doctor, “How is he holding up?”  
“He is doing better than I expected although I am not happy with this,” Doc answered truthfully. “I would rather he stuck with the Parkour events.”  
“I agree,” Greyson answered. “Do you need to fix him up or can it wait until later?”  
“He didn’t sustain any injuries in this fight and I can wait to reapply the bruise cream until he is back at the hotel,” the doc answered truthfully.  
“I need to speak with him alone,” Greyson explained.  
“Tell him I will meet him out front,” was all the doc said as he gathered up his kit.  
Councilman Greyson waited until Coulson was dressed before leading him away from the locker room to a small office that one of his men has found for him. Signaling his guard to wait outside, he pointed to a chair across from a desk as he sat at it.  
“Want to tell me what you are doing?” Greyson began.  
“Is it so wrong to let us compete?” Coulson asked back.  
“Does the word secret mean nothing to you?” Greyson shot back.  
Coulson just sighed and turned his head away.  
“Dammit Coulson look at me,” Greyson snapped. He waited until Coulson had complied before continuing. “Maybe the Council does take things a little two far and I personally can’t see anything wrong with SHIELD personnel competing in the Games. I know of several others who agree with me in this but that is not all I am talking about. You know that as soon as the Council finds your name in all of this that you will be blamed for anything and everything that happens around here. You know they don’t like you.”  
“Why don’t you say what you really mean, they are afraid of me,” Coulson retorted.  
“Do you blame them?” Greyson asked back before finally backing off some with a wave of his hand. “I know it wasn’t your fault that you were the one given the order to assassinate the four Council members years ago but some people don’t want to admit the truth of what was going on and that it needed to be done. Others, newer members just flat out don’t know the truth behind what went on. It didn’t help that the old Director didn’t wait for approval either before giving you those orders. But there are other reasons that they are afraid of you that I can’t fight.”  
Coulson just looked on in confusion before getting up and going to the window.  
“You started out as an asset but became a technician Coulson. You are scarily efficient in everything you do and you instinctively know how to do things. You know how to read people, how and who to recruit, to trust, how to build teams that work eerily well with people no one else trusts, likes, or can work with. You inspire a loyalty that the Council is afraid of in these same people. They are afraid that these same recruits are loyal to you not SHIELD. Do you even realize that some in the Council actually compare you to Reinhard Heydrich, and we both know what a monster he was. They fear you taking over SHIELD, or bringing it down.”  
“You also have the disadvantage of being an American,” Greyson continued. When Coulson whorled around in surprise he continued, “Calm down, it is not what you think. You must remember that to many America and its people are strange, an anomaly. We think, value, and do things in ways others cannot understand. It makes us good in many ways but incomprehensible to them in others. I run into this on the Council occasionally myself and must find ways around it. And even you must admit that you are a product of your past; perhaps more patriot than others.”   
“I don’t want to bring down or take over sir,” Coulson said as he walked away from the window. “I would never do anything of the sort.”  
“Not now maybe but who is to say what will happen in the future? Don’t promise what you can never be sure of.” Greyson said as he came and put his hand on Coulson’s shoulder. “I know you just want to work for a better world for everyone but others are less trusting because they don’t know you. I am just trying to warn you to be careful. I and some of the others who are here watching have already decided get together and tell the rest of the Council that we told you that you could compete as a test of what Director Fury would do.”  
“There are other Council members here?” Coulson asked in surprise as even he did not know who all of the Council members were.  
“There are five of us here. Why?” he asked as he picked up on something in the younger man’s tone.  
“AIM is here looking to recruit or kidnap. Hydra is here with kidnap orders on me at least if not others,” Coulson answered. “You and the others must leave for your own protection. Avoid going north as we have also discovered that there is a new AIM base about fifty miles from here.”  
“I see. I will notify the others and we will leave. Your team’s time here has not been wasted after all when you include whoever you have managed to recruit from here along with this information,” Greyson told him as he turned to leave. “Remember what I said Coulson, you are too valuable a resource to loose but you must watch yourself and everything you do. Be careful, I will not be able to save you again. And watch out for Fury.”  
Coulson watched as Greyson left while trying to puzzle out what his last sentence meant. Finally he gave up and went to join the others. Romanoff’s match would be soon.


	9. Spike the Dragon

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Several of SHIELD's best come together against orders to participate in the Espionage Games to prove they are better than anyone else.

Chapter 9: Spike the Dragon

Madrid; Friday:

Agent Romanoff’s Hand to Hand final began just after noon. The match was every bit as long and bloody as the team had feared it would be. Finally after almost two hours, in a stroke of luck caused by her opponent’s tired sloppiness, Romanoff was able to take her down and keep her down long enough to knock her unconscious. After she was declared the winner, Reid helped Doc carry her to the locker room to clean up and treat her injuries. Twice members of the Red Room tried to come after Romanoff while she was being treated. Coulson, Sitwell, and his team members finally came into the locker room to keep her safe until they could leave. They stopped at a small café for a quick bite to eat before heading over to the Science Lab competition.  
“How are they doing?” Coulson asked as they found seats near Blake and the others. “Any word from Tunous?”  
“I received a text from Turg,” Blake answered quietly as he handed over a sealed envelope. “Tunous won her competition by one point. Are we three for four or four for four? They were at the airport when he sent it. Seems Hill sent a jet to collect the hacker as well as deliver a message for you.”  
Coulson took the time to read his message after telling him about Romanoff’s win. Then he asked for an update on the science babies.  
“They are growing something in an egg,” he answered. “All they have left to do from the looks of it is clean up and periodically turn that huge egg while keeping it hot over the fire.”  
“Over the fire?” Sitwell asked in surprise. “What are they growing in there?”  
“They refuse to tell anyone including the judges,” Blake answered with a smile. “One judge was rather put out when Simmons told him he would just have to wait until tomorrow to see. What did Hill say?”  
“Fury is making a team list but doesn’t have all the team names yet,” he began. “It doesn’t look like he is going to pull us unless something goes majorly wrong. He is a little pissed about the trackers but doesn’t know how it is being done yet. He thinks we cut them out and gave them to others to hold where we are supposed to be. He wanted to know how my tracker was moving around down in Rio when he is watching me fight a bout here in Madrid. He did make the comment that at least something good was coming out of all of this. He also knows that Barton is back in Cairo.”  
“Well that is good; at least that makes things a little easier on you guys,” Sitwell said. “What did Councilman Greyson want with you?”  
“Greyson!” Blake said in shocked surprise.  
“He is one of six Council members here. I explained about AIM and Hydra recommending that they all leave for their own safety. He agreed to pass the word on to the others,” Coulson said. “The rest of his message was private for me other than they will cover for us here barring anything major. He is using it as a test for what Fury will do so there may still be consequences.”  
Blake gave Coulson a considering look before turning his attention back to the competition.  
“If they are done except for waiting until tomorrow, maybe we should set up some type of watch and have everyone else head back to the hotel,” Sitwell suggested. “I for one could do with a few hours sleep.”  
“Keep Coulson off the watch as he is the only one of us competing over the next few days,” Romanoff said as he started to protest her idea. “No, you need the rest and to heal if you are going to stand any chance of winning. You know winning your round fast today was a fluke.”  
Coulson finally agreed and went down to the lab floor to check in with his science babies before heading back to the hotel.

Madrid; Saturday morning:  
Everyone on the team rose at five so that they could shower and eat before heading over to the Science Lab event. Even being as early as they were they had to split up to find enough seats since the place was packed. Coulson as team leader was able to take breakfast down to Fitz and Simmons on the floor so they were not hungry. As they were finishing up eating, their egg began to move around in the fire.  
“Fitz, quickly, clear the area,” Simmons exclaimed excitedly as she pushed her food container into Coulson’s hands. “Throw that way then come back. I want you near when he hatches.”  
Fitz threw his own dish away and gathered a blanket and a baby bottle with milk in it which he put to heat over a pan of water. Simmons removed the egg from the fire and placed it on the blanket as cracks began to appear in the egg. It was clear that whatever they had grown was hatching.  
The audience quickly grew quiet as the cameras put the image of the egg up on the big screen. All of the other science teams had also gathered around to watch as this was one of the last experiments to complete. Slowly they all watched as more and more of the egg began to hatch until finally one side popped off. Pulling Coulson closer Simmons told him to pull the rest of the egg off gently. First checking with the judges who nodded their ok he did as she said. Slowly he revealed a little four legged, winged creature with blue and red swirled alligator like skin. Simmons quickly wrapped it in the blanket to keep it warm then pushed it into Coulson’s arms as Fitz handed him the bottle to feed it.  
“Now what do I do with whatever it is?” Coulson asked as the little thing finished the bottle quickly. It proceeded to root its nose into his neck and shirt sniffing as it snuggled into him.  
“Actually sir, I think you need to unwrap it so the judges can take a look at it to evaluate it,” Fitz told him. “And Spike is a dragon.”  
Coulson just blinked at him before slowly setting the dragon down and unwrapping it from the blanket. It kept trying to crawl to him and would not let him go wrapping a rather long tail around his arm. Finally he just held it by the stomach while the judges approached to look it over. One judge that was prodding it must have really upset it because it squawked and blew sparks out at her.  
“Oh look, he is trying to breathe fire already,” Simmons cooed as Coulson tried to apologize to the judge. “Your pet is such a big boy sir.”  
“My pet?” Coulson wanted to know as he calmed the dragon back down.  
“Well of course sir, that is why we gave him to you first,” Simmons said as Fitz cleaned up the materials while she tickled under Spike’s chin.  
Coulson just started banging his head against the table top as he heard Blake and Sitwell laughing loudly in the background.

Headquarters; USA:  
“A dragon? Those two created a dragon from scratch?” the Director shouted as there was a mixture of cooing from the ladies and laughing from the men as the video showed Spike trying to cuddle with Agent Coulson while he was banging him head on the table. “Oh the Council is just going to love this.”  
“You have to admit, he is pretty,” Hill commented. “I wonder if he can actually use those wings to fly when he gets bigger?”  
“Oh yeah, let’s just create new species to destroy things while we are trying to save the world; that is just what we need,” the Director said as he stomped off in a huff.  
“At least they won,” Hill commented to the room in general as they watched their science babies be declared the winners.


	10. A Break For Most

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Several of SHIELD's best come together against orders to participate in the Espionage Games to prove they are better than anyone else.

Chapter 10: A Break For Most

Madrid; Saturday night:  
“So, we are five for five so far which is really great,” Blake said as he began their nightly briefing. “Sitwell’s team and the science babies have gone back to the States along with all of our recruits. Everyone should have the rest of the weekend off except for Coulson who has another fight tomorrow afternoon. Are you Demo guys ready and have everything you need for your events?”  
“We checked everything over earlier sir, we are all ready,” Turg answered for the three of them.   
“Doc, how is he holding up?” Blake asked as he nodded his head in Coulson’s direction. Coulson was already asleep in the bed with Spike snuggled up against him.  
“I am starting to worry about his ribs with all of the shots he is taking there but other wise he is doing ok,” came the evaluating answer. “Spike is having more of a problem with his being beat up than Coulson is,” he laughed.  
They had put Spike in a collar and on a lease after the judges were done with him at the Science Lab competition. He had refused to go with Fitz and Simmons back to the States and had wrapped his tail around Coulson’s neck several times when they tried to put him in an animal crate. Giving in, Coulson had finally just agreed to keep Spike with him until the Games were over. Spike had gone willingly into Romanoff’s arms at the gym when Coulson asked him but had jumped out of her arms and onto the stage the first time Coulson had gone down on the mats during his bout. The refs had stopped the match long enough for Coulson to corral the dragon, who was trying to bite his opponent, and return him to his teammates. It had provided a moment of levity for everyone which was rather unexpected in the Hand to Hand bouts. Coulson had gone on to win but it had been a long drug out battle.  
“Has anyone sized up his opponent for tomorrow?” Turg asked.  
“Bently is MI6, supposedly one of the 00s, so he will be formidable,” Lammal answered. “I have watched several of his fights. Coulson should beat him but it won’t be an easy fight. Turg and I plan to go with him along with Romanoff to hold Spike.”  
“Ok, let’s do a quick run down of Monday then,” Blake continued. “Turg and Lammal, your matches begin at 0800. Reid and Tunous, I want you to go with them as I want us staying in groups. Dr. Smith is flying in with Barton early Monday morning so he should meet you at the arena. If he isn’t there by 0730, call so Dr. Wilcox can get over there. Barton, Coulson, and I all have the first round of two for the Men’s Parkour in the morning. Romanoff and Doc, I want you with us. Coulson has his quarterfinals match at 1600 that afternoon. I will go over to the Demo events after I run my first round. I want Barton and Romanoff to stay with Doc and Coulson. Spike aught to take to Barton with easy since they are of the same mentality so he can help hold him. We don’t want him on the mats this time. He is starting to gather some interest. Let’s wrap this up and if you are going out before Monday remember to go in groups.”

Headquarters USA; Sunday:  
“Did they manage to keep Spike off of the mats this time?” Fury asked Hill as he joined her in the command center late that afternoon.  
“It was a near thing but he finally listened to Barton,” she answered. “Coulson won and moves on to quarterfinals tomorrow.”  
“What other events are we participating in tomorrow?” the Director wanted to know.   
“There are two team members competing in the Demo events starting Monday and another who starts on Tuesday,” she told him. “The Men’s Parkour starts in the morning also. Blake, Barton, and Coulson are all signed up for that event.”  
“Is Romanoff signed up for the Women’s?” he wanted to know.  
“Yes sir but she doesn’t compete until Tuesday. We also have a team signed up for the Team Parkour which starts on Thursday but I am not sure who is running in that yet.”  
Fury just nodded his head as he checked he status board. “Have you called the Animal Containment Center to warn them about their new addition yet?”  
“You are not going to let him keep Spike as a pet?” she just had to asked.  
“Having a dragon tagging along is not really practical on missions Hill,” he snarked back. “Besides, he is already garnering too much attention. I wish they had sent him back with Sitwell’s team.”  
“From my understanding sir they tried,” she explained. “They gave up when it wrapped its tail so tightly around Agent Coulson’s throat that it would have strangled him to keep fighting it. Spike’s skin was too tough for a needle to go through so they could not sedate it. Anything bigger would have injured Coulson with the way it was wrapped around him.”  
“Unfortunately, this gives Coulson enough time to become attached,” Fury began. “He will probably fight me on giving up the dragon. I will have to authorize visits. Make sure the Containment Center knows not to dissect the thing. I really don’t need the headache of having them all disappear without finding the bodies. And make sure Fitz and Simmons know not to make any more. I know they are brilliant but I did not hire them to create new species.”

Madrid: Monday morning:  
Announcers:  
“Hello everybody and welcome to the second and final week of our Games. And what an action packed week it will be if last week was anything to go by Sylvia. The big story shaping up in these games seems to be our mysterious Team Delta.”  
“Jürgen that is an understatement. Here is a ten member team that has managed to win the gold medal and set records in every event they have been entered into already. They have totally conquered B&E, Rifle Marksmanship, Hacking, Women’s Bantam Weight Hand to Hand, and The Science Lab event with people still entered in seven other events. And let’s talk about what everyone else has been talking about since Team Delta won The Science Lab event Saturday morning. Can you believe it; they actually created a real live dragon. A flying, fire breathing dragon if the reports are true. All within 24 hours.”  
“That is some feat Sylvia, although I love the way the scientists quickly distanced themselves from it by pulling one of their team captains into it. It evidently thinks Phil Coulson is its mother or something. The judges say it imprinted on him as he was the first one it saw and smelled.”  
“But it is such a cute little thing right now. I love the swirled red and blue patterns of its coloring although the skin is rather rough. They have given it the name of Spike and are keeping it close for now as it will rarely leave Coulson’s side. As a matter of fact it caused a little scene at the Men’s Hand to Hand when Coulson was fighting his round Saturday afternoon. It jumped out of one of the other teammates taking care of its arms and rushed onto the mat when it saw Coulson flipped onto his back. The refs had to call a time out while Coulson picked it up and handed it back to his teammates. Even his opponent thought it was funny.”  
Team Delta, and their new mascot, is turning out to be quite a surprise. Everyone is wondering if they can keep on their winning streak through out the rest of the week. Some of the other teams are starting to grumble about who they actually are and have begun asking questions. Several have gone to the officials with their questions and the only answers that have come back are that they are a legitimate team from a legitimist organization. Their company didn’t want to host a team so they are hosting themselves as an independent team. They have met all requirements and the organizers have stated that all of their paperwork has been investigated and checks out.”  
“I would like to see if they can keep their winning streak going also Jürgen. They have three people entered into three different Demo competitions, one entered into the Women’s Parkour, three entered into the Men’s Parkour, and a team entered into the Team Parkour event. And then Coulson starts his quarterfinal round of the Men’s Hand to Hand which he has been competing in since last Tuesday. This week is a full schedule for them compared to last week.”  
“We will just have to wait and see Sylvia. Now, today we are bringing you the quarterfinal rounds of Men’s Hand to Hand and the first of two runs through the Men’s Individual Parkour. It is interesting to note that there is one competitor entered into both events. Phil Coulson of Team Delta will run his first round of Parkour this morning just before noon then head over for his Hand to Hand quarterfinal at four this afternoon. That is the order you would want to do the two events if you had a choice but that is still a lot when you consider how rough the Hand to Hand bouts have become. We will just have to see how he does. Now let’s head over to the Stadium for the first of the Men’s Parkour runs.”


	11. A Very Hard Fight

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Several of SHIELD's best come together against orders to participate in the Espionage Games to prove they are better than anyone else.

Chapter 11: A Very Hard Fight

Headquarters USA; Monday night:  
“Hey Lambert, did you post the pictures of Spike on the Games Blog you are running?” Sitwell wanted to know as he came into the control room for his evening shift.  
“Are you kidding, I had so many requests for pictures it wasn’t funny,” came the laughing reply. “Everyone especially loved the one of Spike cuddled up in Coulson’s arms like a teddy bear while he was asleep.”  
“He is so going to kill you when he gets back man,” Sitwell said as he checked the status board while shaking his head. “The one I posted of the dragon snuggling and kissing him was bad enough but that one…”  
“Hey, even The Robot can have a pet. After all, who else would pick a fire breathing dragon,” Lambert shot back. “Besides, The Robot and Dragon has become the hottest thing on our boards right now.”  
“Just keep it toned down please,” Hill told him as she entered to brief Sitwell for his shift. “Everyone do ok today in competition?”  
“Doing great and heading into their next rounds,” Lambert replied as he turned back to monitor his computer.  
“Second, third, and tied for fourth in the Parkour,” Sitwell explained as they finished the briefing. “The demo guys all advanced and Coulson survived another beating to make semis.”  
“I hope the fact that they are doing so well will help keep the Council from crying for their blood,” she said quietly.  
“Don’t say anything to Fury,” Sitwell whispered as he pulled her into a corner. “There were six Council members there when I was there including Greyson. He told Coulson that he and the others will cover them if nothing serious goes down there. He wants to use it as a test for what Fury will do.”  
Hill just stared at him as she realized the potential for all of this blowing up in their faces more than they had planned for.

Madrid; Tuesday evening:  
“All right, good job today everyone,” Blake said as they all sat around the table eating dinner together. At their nods he continued. “Turg won his final this afternoon so our winning streak is still alive. Reid did very well and both she and Lammal have finals tomorrow afternoon. Romanoff, I think you have your event aced as usual. She is a good six points ahead of everyone else and your final is tomorrow. Barton, Coulson and I have our Parkour final tomorrow afternoon. We are in the last group of runners so it should be around 1500 when we compete. Coulson made it to his finals in Hand to Hand which are tomorrow morning.”  
“Are you still considering trying to do both events tomorrow Coulson?” Dr. Smith asked. He had helped treat Coulson after this semi fight earlier.  
“Yes,” was the only answer.  
“I wish you wouldn’t,” Dr. Wilcox told him knowing it would do no good. “Your opponent tomorrow is from the Red Room and a Meta-Human. You have watched several of his fights. It will be vicious.”  
Coulson just looked at the doctors so they backed off.   
“Alright,” Blake said to cut the tension. “Let’s head back to our rooms and everyone can prepare themselves for tomorrow.”

Announcers:  
“Good morning everyone on this fine Wednesday. We are here at the Men’s Hand to Hand Light Heavyweight final which promises to be an epic battle.”  
“Morning Sylvia. This final is always one of the epic events of the Games. It is the weight class with the most participants and always has the hardest battles for the medals. We have seen some truly vicious fights over the last week in this group and the final promises to be no better. Today’s match up is being billed as the old against the new here. On one side you have the young Red Room Meta-Human who has superb reflexes and strength and on the other side you have the oldest participant in the games; a pure human with lots of experience and solid as a rock.”  
“That’s right Jürgen. You also have a matchup here between the Meta-Human who heals quickly and easily against the full blooded Human who is beat up, bruised, and sore after over a week of constant battles. Even with the seeming unevenness of the participants, this promises to be an epic battle.”  
“That’s right Sylvia, don’t count out Coulson of Team Delta. What is really surprising to me today though is that regardless of the finish of this fight, Coulson must rush over to the stadium when he is done to participate in the second round of the Men’s Individual Parkour where he sits tied for fourth place at present. That is almost super human if he can pull off medals in both events regardless of the color he goes home with. And Sylvia, here come our fighters to the mats.”  
“Oh this is interesting Jürgen. Somarcov has fought all of his matches wearing the tight lycra shorts that are common among the competitors with a tank top and wresting boots. He has gained a reputation at these games for using other competitor’s clothing against them in the matches and it is actually said that it directly contributed to his winning two of his bouts. Coulson on the other hands has worn standard loose gym shorts, a t-shirt, and running shoes. Now for the first time, Coulson is wearing the tight lycra shorts. It also appears, now that they are on the mats, that he is taking his shoes and socks off and plans to fight barefoot.”  
“And look at Somarcov’s reaction. He is just standing there knowing he is being taunted. Oh, and he is responding by pulling off his tank top as a challenge as well as his socks and wresting boots.”  
“And Coulson is going to go along; he is pulling off his t-shirt. Oh these two are going for no holds barred. You can see the difference between the Meta-Human’s quick healing factor vs. the Human’s mass of bruising, cuts, and scratches; the Russian’s litheness vs. the solid packed muscle of the American. ”  
“And there is the second referee Sylvia. That was something else that was added for these Games, a second ref to make sure everything stays legal. And they are ready to go.”

Headquarters; USA:  
“Have they started yet?” Director Fury asked as he and Councilman Greyson came into the packed auditorium.  
“They are just beginning sir,” Hill answered as they took their seats.  
“Oh hell, the Russian’s a Meta-Human,” Fury commented as the fight began.  
“And Red Room,” Hill explained. “Coulson doesn’t stand a chance.”  
“I would not be so sure of that,” Greyson commented from his seat. “He has the advantage of facing an opponent who is over confident because he has never been beat. Remember that one of Coulson’s gifts is to find and exploit weaknesses.”  
They watched as the fight turned vicious fast because the Russian expected to win easily and Coulson refused to bow to Somarcov’s expectations. The fight drug on as they pounded on and threw each other around the ring. Somarcov drew first blood as he popped the stitches on Coulson’s shoulder and above his eye about half an hour in and the refs called for a short break to allow the cuts to be waxed shut. Coulson managed to dislocate Somarcov’s left knee after they resumed which left the Russian with a limp after he popped it back in himself. As the fight approached two hours pops and cracks could be heard from pulled joints and repeated hits to the ribs of both opponents. Finally Somarcov twisted out of a hold he was pinned in and pulled Coulson’s left shoulder out of its socket. Coulson just continued to hold his hand down on his opponent’s neck and when Somarcov pulled him towards the mat he twisted just enough to insert his knee into the space between them close to his body. Pulling backwards on his dislocated arm he pulled Somarcov towards him enough to grab his head by his hair and slam the side of it into his knee knocking out his opponent.”

Madrid Gym:  
Announcers:  
“Sylvia, did you see that move? It looks like Somarcov has gone down and he isn’t moving much.”  
“But it isn’t the end yet Jürgen. Remember, to win Coulson has to be on his feet standing before the refs can call it. There have been cases were the fight was lost because the unconscious man was able to wake up and regain his feet first. Can Coulson bring himself to his feet and stand there long enough for the refs to make the call?”  
“He’s trying Sylvia but can he do it in time. It looks like Somarcov is not really out. He may be just hurt enough to be down for now.”  
“But will he stay down? And look Coulson has regained his feet. He is just barely standing but he is on his feet. The refs are evaluating Somarcov to see if he can continue.”  
“:And that’s it Sylvia, the refs have called it! Phil Coulson of Team Delta has won the gold in Men’s Light Heavyweight Hand to Hand. And what a match it has been.”


	12. Pushing Yourself

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Several of SHIELD's best come together against orders to participate in the Espionage Games to prove they are better than anyone else.

Chapter 12: Pushing Yourself 

Madrid:  
Dr. Wilcox half dragged, half carried Coulson to the locker room and pushed him into a shower to clean him up thinking that once his patient lay down, he would not be rising again for a while. Romanoff and Turg came into the room to provide both help and protection as the Red Room was not pleased with the results of the fight any more than they had been after Romanoff’s fight. Soon Coulson was clean and laid out on a padded table where the doctor began to access and treat his injuries.  
There was a ruckus at the door and Romanoff moved nearer to the entrance to give herself room to fight if needed. She relaxed as General Hirum of the Mossad walked in the door with one of his doctors who quickly went to help Wilcox. Romanoff then raised an eyebrow in surprise as MI6’s M walked in the door with two of her guards who were smart enough to stay just inside the door. M walked nearer to the table to stand beside General Hirum as they watched the two doctors evaluate Coulson.  
“Verdict?” M asked when she saw the doctors’ switch to treatment beginning with putting the dislocated shoulder back in place.  
“He’ll live but be in a lot of pain for a while,” Wilcox began. “Dislocated left shoulder and right ankle, broken metacarpal in his right hand as well as two broken fingers there, three broken ribs, another four cracked, probably a hairline fracture in his left clavicle, broken cheek bone below his left eye for starters. The pulled stitches on the back of his right shoulder have shredded the skin and that will have to be delicately stitched back together not to mention the stitches on his eye need to be redone. Massive bruising to his whole body as well as various cuts, scratches, pulled muscles. And exhaustion from over a week of being beaten on.”  
“Just put the bones back in place, tape them, and cauterize the shoulder,” Coulson mumbled from the bed. “I have a Parkour course to run in a few hours.”  
“Dammit Phil,” General Hirum began, “Quit being so pig headed. Your eyes are so swollen you can not even see out of them. ”  
“Maybe you should listen for a change. Fury is going to be pissed enough,” Blake said as he and Barton came into the locker room.  
“Just fix me,” Coulson snapped back. “M,” he said as he finally acknowledged her presence.  
“Thank you for beating him, he has killed two of mine and crippled another six,” she told him.  
“He has killed three of mine and crippled seven,” General Hirum added. “Glad to see someone could beat him.”  
“Didn’t kill him though, he will be back,” came the pained answer. “Ewww,” he remarked as leeches were attached to the skin around his eyes to relieve the swelling.  
“Quiet, you need your rest,” Wilcox snapped. “And Blake, get that dragon away from him. There is no telling what kind of germs it harbors.”  
“Spike isn’t it?” M said as she studied the little animal as it snuggled against Coulson.  
“Got one he can mate with in a few years?” Blake asked as he tried to pull the dragon away.  
“Not the last time I checked,” she answered with a small smile. “If I come across one I will let you know. I wonder why our scientist couldn’t come up with something interesting like that. It would have been more appropriate for us with all our castles.”  
“Come madam, let us let them work while we go enjoy some tea and talk,” General Hirum laughingly said as he gestured to the door. “They will inform us if we are needed.”  
The doctors continued to move bones around and treat Coulson’s other injuries until they were satisfied. Dr. Wilcox put tape around his ribs and other breaks to help hold the bones in place before wrapping them in ace bandages and support braces. Stitches were done and the shoulder cauterized as Icy Hot was rubbed into his sore muscles to keep them loose. Finally, the doctors helped dress Coulson in the uniform of jeans, t-shirt, and basketball shoes. Then they watched as Romanoff fed him a big cup of thick tomato soup. Once the doctors were ensured that he was not going to be sick from eating they gave him six aspirin to treat any pain he was feeling. Coulson walked around some to ensure his braces were adjusted right for support but ease of movement before he signaled Blake that he was ready to leave for the stadium.

Headquarters; USA:  
The auditorium was packed again as everyone watched the early runners in the Men’s Individual Parkour. The last seven runners were the ones who stood a chance of medaling and they would begin their runs in another 30 minutes. Director Fury and Councilman Greyson took their reserved seats in the front just before the final runners began.   
“He won’t run, he was too badly injured in the Hand to Hand,” Fury commented. “I hope Barton or Blake can win though.”  
“Don’t underestimate Coulson,” Greyson told him. “That has always been one of your weaknesses. Plus, he is too stubborn for his own good.”  
“There they are,” someone shouted from a few rows back as the video feed showed all three of Team Delta’s members arrived in the stadium about 20 minutes later. “Yes, and it looks like Coulson’s going to try and run,” another commented.  
Everyone settled in to watch as the three began warming up while their competitors took their turns. Blake was the first to run and earned a good enough time to put him in first place by .01 of a point. Two other runners went before it was Barton’s turn but both slipped losing several seconds which cost them. Barton ran his round fast enough to earn a score only .002 of a point behind Blake which earned him a big round of applause. The next to last runner began his round but slipped off of the side of one of the buildings and did not complete his round. His previous round was fast enough that it still left him in third place.   
Coulson was announced as the final runner in the event when he stepped up to the starting line; a big cheer went up as many acknowledged the courage it took him to run his round after his Hand to Hand win. As the starting horn sounded many watched in disbelief at the speed and agility he was using. He slipped once while sliding through some rails but was able to maintain his balance and continue without stopping. There was a another big cheer in the auditorium as he crossed the finish line and collapsed to the ground while trying to catch his breath. Everyone waited anxiously during the two minutes it took for his time and score to be recorded on the scoreboard before breaking out in a huge round of surprised applause and cheers. Coulson had placed first by a single point.   
“Let’s here it for our robot,” someone shouted from the back of the room to the laughter of many.  
While Coulson was being picked up off the ground and rushed back to the hotel, the video feed remained on the participants in the stadium. Hill and Sitwell watched as many grouped together asking questions and pointing as the small group left the stadium.  
“Ah hell, that was what I had hoped to avoid,” Fury said as he saw the questioning looks on most people’s faces.  
“Let it go Fury,” Councilman Greyson said. “There is only one event left.”


	13. Winning It All

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Several of SHIELD's best come together against orders to participate in the Espionage Games to prove they are better than anyone else.

Chapter 13: Winning It All

Madrid; Thursday morning:  
That morning everyone slept in before they all collected in Coulson’s room for debrief after breakfast since the doctors were not letting him out of bed yet.   
“Alright everybody listen up,” Blake called as Coulson ate the breakfast that Barton had brought him. “There is one event left, the Team Parkour which is Barton, Romanoff, and Coulson. We have won a total of twelve medals so far, ten of which are gold which means we will also win the Overall Team gold. Needless to say we have accomplished our goal of letting everyone know we are the best, mostly without them finding out who we are.”  
There were laughs all around about that last part as they had all been approached by different groups trying to recruit them both as individuals and as a team.  
“Our problem now is that we are garnering too much attention,” Blake continued. “What we have decided to do is to let you wander as a group today if you want. A quinjet will be here at seven to take those going back to the Sandbox home. Reid, I want you to go with them and I will have you sent back to the States from there. Doc Wilcox, we need you to stay as Mr. Stubborn over there is still going to try to compete tomorrow.”  
“Unless you can talk him out of it,” Wilcox answered.  
“He doesn’t know the routine,” Coulson explained quietly. “I will be fine.”  
“I never realized how annoying that sounded,” Barton said to the laughs of them all.  
“Blake, you need to go back to the Sandbox also,” Coulson said when everyone had quieted.  
“I am not letting you take the blame for this alone Phil, we have already talked about this,” he answered sincerely. “I will go back to Headquarters with you guys when you go.”  
Coulson was unhappy but just nodded as they had indeed agreed to share the blame. Then he turned to Dr. Wilcox,”You need to let me up long enough to go to the stadium this afternoon for an hour or so. We have to walk through the course at least once before we run it tomorrow. Then I will come back and rest, I promise.”  
Signing in agreement the doctor nodded as everyone else left.

Headquarters; USA:  
“Was that Warden Michaels?” Sitwell asked as he pulled Hill to his workstation in the command center.  
“Yes, Fury has been talking with him on the phone for several days now,” she answered.   
“Danm, he is going to have them thrown in the Frig,” Sitwell commented. “Is there any way to prevent that?”  
“Not that I have found yet,” was her only reply.  
“Has transportation been arranged for the team members?” he asked.  
“A quinjet from the Sandbox is taking that group and Reid back there this evening. I have already ordered a jet to bring Reid back here. Romanoff has her own transportation arrange to get her back to Kiev. Barton actually managed to finish his op before returning to the Games on Monday morning. Blake, Barton, and Coulson will be returning here after their last event. I have arranged to pick them up tomorrow night,” she explained. “The tracker system will slowly be dismantled as everyone returns to home base.”  
“I guess all we can do then is keep everyone else out of the firing line,” he said as he turned back to his station.

 

Madrid; Friday afternoon:  
Announcers:  
“Good afternoon everyone and welcome back to the last event and the end of the 2011 Espionage Games. Let’s take a quick look at the medal standings Sylvia.”  
“To the surprise of everyone Jürgen, Team Delta is on top of the Team competition all due to their twelve gold medals. They have managed to win the gold medal in every event they have had someone entered into so far.”  
“Those are truly amazing results. The Red Room comes in at second with MI6 coming in third this year. Those results are already set and even the outcome of the Team Parkour event cannot change them enough to matter. Team Delta has already been declared the winner there making thirteen golds for them. There admittance into these Games has been something of a shock to many especially considering how well they did. And despite what a small interconnected community this is there is still no confirmation of who they are despite all of the rumors and I do not see any of them telling anybody. They have not even agreed to interviews yet.”  
“We have learned that over half the team has already gone home and that only three participants, a team captain, and a team doctor remain. It is truly amazing how secret they have remained. I can only hope that some time soon we will learn who they are and all about them.”  
“And now Sylvia let’s talk about the last event remaining, the Team Parkour event. Also known as free running this is one of the more popular events considering that Parkour is supposed to be both a singular event and non competitive. Now, all of the teams are made up of three members. They are usually all the same gender and usually almost the same size as that makes the timing work easily. And you will notice that I said usually because thanks to our favorite Team Delta, that team makeup is different this year at least for them.”  
“That’s right Jürgen, Team Delta is the first mixed gender Parkour team put forth in the Games. What they were doing has been questioned by the other teams but again according to the organizers, there are no rules against what they are doing. It is just that no one else has bothered to try. There is also the size difference in the three members they are choosing to use. Instead of all being the same size Barton, who leads off is 6’3”, Coulson who runs second is 5’10”, and Romanoff who runs last is 5’7”. It will be really interesting to see how much this size difference affects their timing.”  
“Sylvia I am more interested in the fact that Team Delta, who swept the Men’s Individual Event, which was also a first for any event in the Games, is choosing to use Phil Coulson instead of Felix Blake. The size difference would still be there but at least Blake is healthy. We all know what a hard battle Coulson had in the Men’s Hand to Hand and the rumors are that he has several broken bones on top of other injuries. I just do not understand this choice. We will just have to see how much it matters.”  
“If I am understanding everything correctly we also have a rule change in the Parkour event for the first time this year Jürgen. In the past the teams were able to choose their own way through the course without rules. This made it harder on the judges because some teams choose to stay close to the ground and some teams choose to run high and stay there. With different maneuvers for high and low the judging was very difficult and could be call unfair. This year the requirement is that every team go high at least twice and every team go to the ground at least twice. They have also instituted a point system with difficulties assigned for different tricks. This should make everything easier and much quicker when it comes to judging. ”  
“Except when you come to Team Delta. From what I understand they have tricks the judges have either not assigned points, or difficulties, to and some that have never even been heard of before. Because of this, their difficulty level is almost three points above anyone else’s. Good old Team Delta, they just keep the surprises coming. And it is even being talked about that they have not done a single practice run on this course. They did walk it for about an hour yesterday afternoon after everyone else had left and looked at the different obstacles but that is it”  
“We will just have to wait and see. Now, the running order was drawn randomly by the team captains on Monday afternoon. Half the teams ran yesterday and all but the last three remaining teams ran this morning. What we have left is the Canadians, the Brazilians, and Team Delta who drew the last slot. The standings are Red Room in first, the Mossad in second, and the French in third. Remember that each team only runs once and that the score is a combination of their time and artistic merit. Jürgen, let’s go down to the field now and watch as the Canadian get ready to go.  
“The horn sounds and they are off. The Canadians appear to be taking a high route through the course and let’s see if they pick the same places to come down that all of the others teams that chose that route took. They are doing the standard jumps and slides we have seen from most teams and here they go heading down to the ground for the first time as they come to the wider stretch between buildings with just the street light pole in between. And ahh their last man goes down which will cost them points. He is up again but that fall has put them out of the running for a medal. Now all they can hope for is to finish well.”

A few minutes later:  
“Overall not a bad run by the Canadians, just not enough to put them in medal contention with that fall. This is one of the toughest courses we have seen anywhere so I am really not surprised at the problems the teams have encountered here. Let’s see if the Brazilians can do any better. They should be ready to go in just a few seconds. Their routine is almost identical to the one the Canadians just ran so let’s see how different the scores come out. Their ready, and there is the horn.”

Several minutes later:  
“Not a bad run at all for the Brazilians, Sylvia. Not bad at all and with no errors. And here come the scores, oh and it is good enough to bump the French back into fourth by 1.5 points. This has been a tough competition today with only one more team to go.”  
“This is for the gold Jürgen, they are on the line, and there is the horn. Team Delta is on their way.”  
“They appear to be doing a high routine and have started off pretty much the same as all of the other high teams. They do appear to be doing more edge running than the others but not overly so. And they appear to be going really fast Jürgen. They are already coming up to the point where most high teams went down to the ground.”  
“But there routine calls for something called a high bar flip at this point and I think we are about to find out what that is.”  
“Look, they are not going down at all but are running across the roof gathering what looks like more speed. Look at Barton! He has jumped from the roof to the light pole and is spinning around on it like a high bar. He has let go, and look at that flip to change his direction for a somersault landing on the opposing roof. And Coulson and Romanoff are right behind him doing the same thing.”  
“And that has got to hurt Coulson’s shoulder which was dislocated two days ago, and his hand and ribs which were broken but it doesn’t appear to be stopping him. Here comes Barton out of the building for their first touch down and he is now climbing up the outside of the stairs on the building at the end which most teams skipped. They appear to have decided to slide and jump down the fire escape and they swing through the railings to enter the next building to go back to the roofs. This team is doing things the others didn’t even consider.”  
“They are now back to run across the roofs and wow they are running across the beams sticking out off the side off of that building. Oh my, they have dropped between the beams and have caught and slid through the stair railing two stories below on their way to the ground again. Jürgen look, are they literally running up the side of that next building? I don’t think I have seen anyone do that for that long before. How are they defying gravity?”  
“I don’t know Sylvia but they are coming up on their next unknown stunt, something called a cross, drop dive, and flip. And I do not understand why they are heading for the roof again as there is not a pole like last time to help them across the space between the buildings. They are up the stairs and lining up together as they cross the roof. Sylvia, they just jumped. They are sailing out and across. And there is the drop as they appear to be aiming for the open windows on the second floor of the building across the way. Up, a little bump there with the feet by Coulson as he passes through the window frame but it does not appear to be enough to slow him down as they are all up again and heading for the fire escape.”  
“Jürgen I think we have just seen the difference between the varsity team vs the junior varsity here with all the other teams being the juniors. The audience has just gone quiet in shock as they watch what this team is doing. This routine is so far above everyone else’s that it is not even funny. And they are almost to the end once again being on the roof as they near the finish line. Their last stunt is called a pole spin but somehow I do not think it is the simple swing around the flag pole like every one else has done.”  
“Yep you are right Sylvia as Barton launches himself off the roof again and grabs onto the top of the flag pole and spins multiple times around as he slides down. And now Coulson has joined him. Can they get all three on the pole at the same time? There they go, all three for two rotations before Barton has let himself fly off the bottom and cart wheeled across the finish line. Wow what a routine!”  
“Well, I can honestly say I have never seen anything like that before Jürgen, I think the only thing the judges can do here is give them the gold for that routine.”  
“Or disqualify them for being insane. And there it is Sylvia, the judges have given them a perfect score, easily giving them the gold. Wow what an exciting wrap up to these Games. I couldn’t have wished for a better ending.”


	14. Repercussions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Several of SHIELD's best come together against orders to participate in the Espionage Games to prove they are better than anyone else.

Chapter 14: Repercussions

Headquarters; USA:  
Saturday after the Games:  
The quinjet set down on the flight pad on top of the Headquarters building just after three Saturday morning. They were met by guards who directed Barton and Blake to quarters for rest while telling them they were expected in the control room at 0900 later that morning. Coulson was taken to medical with Spike where the dragon was petted and cooed over by both the guards and nurses. The doctors just glared at Coulson as he was told to get undressed so they could take him to x-ray. When Coulson was finally settled for the night after being poked and prodded for over an hour, Spike was allowed to cuddle up with him in the bed.  
At 0830 Coulson was dressed and loaded into a wheel chair and taken to the control room where he found Director Fury waiting with a lot of other people who would not normally be found there on a Saturday morning. It was also noticed that the meeting was being recorded and televised live for all SHIELD personnel. Seeing that everyone was now present including Fitz and Simmons, Fury began.  
“So, Dr. Wilcox I believe you were asked to participate in this endeavor as an after thought and are not one of the planners. You base commanding officer has stated that he gave you permission to be the team doctor. Your punishment is restriction to the base for the next 90 days and a loss of six months pay. You will board a quinjet this afternoon and be returned to Greece. A letter is being placed in your file.”  
“Barton, you will be going to the Frig for 30 days hard labor upon completion of which you will be returned to the helocarrier where you will be on restriction for one year. And that one year does not count time you are away for ops. Be glad that you at least managed to complete your op successfully or your time in the Frig would be much longer. And yes Romanoff will be handed the same sentence when she returns from her op. Consider yourselves lucky that is all that I am doing to you as the Council is not pleased.”  
“The other team mates will all be getting letters in their files, restrictions, and reduced pay. I don’t want to ever see something like this again.”  
“Fitz and Simmons, my two new trouble makers. I am giving you the same sentence as the others plus 30 days in the Frig. If you ever create another new species again, I will lock you up there permanently. Do you understand?” At their nods he continued.  
“Blake,” Fury stopped for a minute to look at the man. “You are a disappointment that I did not expect. Your being one of the team captains tells me that you are one of the ring leaders here. You know that the Council did not want anyone to compete and yet you did anyway. What do you have to say for yourself?”  
“Sir, we checked,” Blake began in his bid to get at least some of the punishments canceled. “At no time did you send out a memo saying that personnel could not compete in this year’s Olympics. You have every time before so when we did not see the memo we figured it was allowed this year. That is what I told my people when they asked. If I was wrong then it is my fault, not theirs.”  
“Do even start with me,” Fury snapped. “You knew better. And whatever you helped to do to the tracking system makes things even worse. You will have plenty of time to think about it as you spend the next six months in solitary confinement in the Frig. And don’t think of it as a vacation. I had detailed inventories conducted not only on the Sandbox but on every SHIELD warehouse. You will be spending your time in the Frig reconciling all of the inventories and paperwork. You had better hope you can finish in six months because you will be there until you are done. Understood? You will also be losing six months of pay.”  
“Yes sir,” was all Blake answered with an unhappy look on his face.  
The Director then moved over to stand in front of Agent Coulson’s wheel chair just staring at the man for a minute before he began.  
“Sitwell,” He barked when he was finally ready to begin. “Put the dragon in the animal carrier. It is going to Animal Containment for study.”  
There was a short battle between the guards, Coulson, and Spike with several people being burned before the deed was accomplished and the carrier taken away with the dragon calling “Da Da” all the way out of the control room.  
“The danmed thing talks?” he shouted at Fitz and Simmons as they tried not to cry as their creation was taken away. “Hill, I want a full debrief with the heads of R&D and these two before they leave for the Frig.”  
“Yes sir,” was all she said in acknowledgement.  
“Why am I not surprised that you are involved in all of this?” Fury began as he crossed his arms in front of him once he was facing Coulson again. “And how the hell did you manage to complete an op, in Rio no less, without even being there?”  
“I have friends that helped,” was all Coulson would say.  
“I do not want to hear another word out of you, do you hear me?” Fury began shouting. “You will return to medical where you will stay in one of the locked isolation rooms until they release you. Then you will begin your six months stay in isolation at the Frig just like Blake. While he is stuck doing inventories you will be reconciling audits on all HR, Finance, and Operations departments for all bases. I don’t care how long it takes to finish but you will not be leaving until it is done. Once you return, you will be on restriction for a year not counting when you are on ops and you will be forking over six months pay.”  
“I hope you all thought it was worth it,” Fury said in disgust as he dismissed everybody and Warden Michaels stepped forward with his guards. “Hill, I will be speaking with the Council; they wanted a report of all of this.”


	15. Epilogue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Several of SHIELD's best come together against orders to participate in the Espionage Games to prove they are better than anyone else.

Chapter 15: Epilogue:

Late summer 2013; Paris, France:

Agent Coulson was sitting on the wing of the Bus drinking a beer while he watched the stars when he was joined by Agent Blake.  
“What are you doing in the area?” Coulson asked.  
“Qualifier of course,” Felix answered with a smile. “Are you going to compete?”  
“Tempting fate after last time aren’t you?” Phil inquired as he passed Blake a beer from the small cooler beside him.  
“Nah, everyone knows who we are now so the Council doesn’t see the point in stopping us from competing this time,” Felix said with a smile. “The only stipulation they made was that we have to fund ourselves.”  
“So who is sponsoring you,” Phil wanted to know.  
“Ms. Potts emailed me and asked if we needed funding again this year,” he answered carefully. “I told her it would be appreciated. I didn’t realize that was who you used last time. We have seven people signed up so far on top of five of us returning from last time.”  
They sat in silence for a while before Blake spoke again.  
“You didn’t answer my question.”   
“I officially don’t exist to most people yet Felix,” Phil said with sadness. “I can’t even tell Clint and Natasha I am alive. Why do you think I am here instead of running around Paris with my team?”  
“Is that the only reason?” came the careful question.  
“No,” Phil began before hesitating. Felix and he had never been real close but they had always been able to rely on each other. For some reason he trusted the man. “I don’t feel right, since New York.”  
“They did something to you,” Felix interpreted. “I suspected as much when I saw you at the Sandbox several weeks ago. You are acting different, more hesitant.” They were silent for a while before he began again. “Things have changed Phil. Certain people have changed. Watch your back.”  
“I am beginning to see that,” Phil told him. “Are you sure you want to chance it with what is going on?”  
“I am ok where I am at, safe for now,” he answered. “I quit working in the field totally last Spring except for high level emergencies as I am getting too old for that stuff. You need to do the same Phil, before someone uses it to take you out.”  
“I don’t have a choice anymore,” Phil explained. “I always knew I would die in the field. I just didn’t expect that it would be an inside job.”  
“It doesn’t have to be that way Phil. Don’t leave yourself alone like I found you tonight. You know better,” Felix ordered.  
“I will try,” Coulson told him before changing the subject. “You can contact Romanoff to find out how she set up the communications and everything. And to circumvent any trackers that need hacked. She knows who to contact.”  
“When was the last time you saw Spike?” Felix asked him. “He misses you.”  
“I haven’t been to see him since before New York,” Phil answered quietly.  
“Why?”  
“I think he will know the difference and I am still afraid of that difference,” Phil admitted in a voice just above a whisper.  
“I have him at the Sandbox now. He kept escaping his enclosure at Animal Containment and killing the experimental animals. The scientist complained so much that Fury asked me if I could take him four months ago. I had one of the bigger warehouses modified and fixed up for him. He likes it and he has plenty of room. The staff and I keep him company. You will have to visit him the next you come by. Maybe you can take a ride on him then,” Blake said as enticement.  
“What do you mean a ride?” Phil asked in confused surprise.  
“One of the girls made the mistake of reading “Eragon” to him. We built him a soft leather saddle thinking he would be happy with that but then he wanted someone to try riding him. Being dumb one night, I said yes not thinking he could do it. We didn’t go high or far but I will never forget the feeling. Spike talks about wanting to take you up flying. He wants you to be his dragon rider.” Felix admitted with a smile. “Fury would say you and yours are definitely a bad influence on me.”  
They both laughed before sitting quietly together for another 10 minutes. Then Blake rose to leave.  
“Good luck Felix,” Coulson said. “Win that Parkour gold for me since I won’t be there to do it.”


End file.
